Kingdom Hearts III - Alternate Ending (spoilers)
by Char1es-Magnus
Summary: I started writing my story, which takes place after KH 3, before the game came out. Because of that, I recently had to write and post my own version of KH 3's ending so my story makes sense. My ending follows the game for the most part, with the changes getting more noticeable as the chapters go on. The "Preface" section explains myself further if you're interested.
1. Preface

For many years now, ever since I beat Kingdom Hearts 2, I fantasized about making my own continuation to the Kingdom Hearts series. Not long after I beat the second game back in the mid-to-late 2000s, I wrote my own version of Kingdom Hearts 3. I was much younger at the time, and I hadn't written anything before, so the way my story was written was more like a Wikipedia summary format, rather than a proper light-novel or script, and of course, it wasn't very good, especially the ending. I posted it on the IMDb message boards (back when that was still a thing), and the few people that read it seemed to enjoy it, with one person claiming that it was better than most Kingdom Hearts Fanfiction that he read at the time, though that wasn't saying much based on what I myself had read back then. There were very few stories like mine that tried to take themselves seriously and actually continue the series, instead they seemed to focus more on sexual content (particularly yaoi), or otherwise parodied the games. But the ending to my story was the worst part, as it did not do the story and the characters justice. I was going through a weird phase at the time, and it clearly affected my writing.

Now, after many years, while I have also come up with other types of fanfiction for other franchises, the one that persisted with me the most was Kingdom Hearts. Since the earlier games in the series brought about a powerful sense of nostalgia in me and made me fall in love with classic Disney movies all over again, as well as helped me branch out of Nintendo games and into a much bigger videogame world, those games had a bigger impact on my life than I realized. But, as more games came out, I had accepted that my version of Kingdom Hearts 3 would have to be changed, since it was apparent that Square Enix would eventually release the actual game. So instead, I changed my story into a whole "saga" that takes place after what was now being called the "Xehanort Saga". By this time, I had seen more shows, read more books, and played more games, so my mindset was more refined. I still wanted to pay respects to the source material, but I wanted to also change it up by having the characters grow more noticeably. Not only that, but any worlds that I include in my fanfic would be significantly more relevant to the overall story. No longer would it just be our childhood stories being replayed in an abridged format, or have an in-game sequel that barely shows the aftermath of the story that the game-world is based on. Instead, I'd try something more ambitious and actually _change_ the background and lore of the franchises I plan on featuring in my KH fanfic so that they fit the Kingdom Hearts lore. I'll try and balance it so the franchises I include feel familiar with their source material, while also feeling fresh and exciting again, and grow in ways that hasn't been seen in their source material, but could be considered plausible by my readers. Whole character arcs and world lore would be molded into my Kingdom Hearts story while retaining elements of their original versions so that they remain recognizable. That way, they wouldn't just feel like fan service that pad out the plot, but would actually feel relevant, affecting and being affected by the Kingdom Hearts universe. KH 3 did something like that with the Big Hero 6 world, when Sora inspired the characters to improve their abilities based on how he battled the Heartless. I appreciated that small but noticeable attempt to actually change the characters in some way, but I plan on making those kinds of changes on a much LARGER scale in my story, not just with characters, but with the lore and background as well. Some of these changes you might like, and some you might not.

I won't force any of you to like where I plan to take these characters, all I ask is that you bear with me. I'll accept constructive criticism, especially if it helps me improve and/or add to my story, but otherwise, I have long-term plans on where my story will go, and in my humble opinion, I feel that's more than what Tetsuya Nomura did. Again, this is my opinion, though I'm likely not the only one who thinks this, but I got the feeling that Nomura was making stuff up as he went. I felt like he didn't know what he wanted to do for Kingdom Hearts 3, even though he saw the demand for it. So, to pass the time, he and the rest of Square Enix pumped out games to satisfy our needs in the short term. These games should have been great, but instead they were let-downs, focusing too much on plot-twists and convoluted subplots, and in the end merely served to hype up Kingdom Hearts 3 rather than progress the story in any meaningful way, with the exception of Birth By Sleep, but even then, that game would only contradict the original Kingdom Hearts game by retconning how and why Sora and Riku got the keyblade, and when combined with 358/2 Days, it diluted the character of Roxas, who was of my favorite characters in the series. But that's not the biggest issue I face now that Kingdom Hearts III has been out.

Based on how it ended, and that includes the epilogue and the secret ending, I came to the conclusion (which may be controversial to some of you) that I'll have to remake and post the final act of Kingdom Heart III, as I clearly underestimated how much the ending would affect my story. I predicted that Ventus would come back, among other important plot points, but I did not predict Namine, Roxas, and Xion as well. With Roxas and Ventus existing simultaneously, it complicated the story arc I had for my interpretation of Ventus/Roxas, and since Xion is back too, it further complicated the direction I wanted to take Roxas. As for Namine, I'm not sure why Nomura felt it was ok to have her and other Nobodies exist, when technically they're just aspects of "somebodies" like Sora and Kairi. Kingdom Hearts 2 implied, at least to me, that since Sora and Kairi were revived, Roxas and Namine were now whole again, so the idea that Roxas and Namine deserve to exist as their own entities makes no sense considering the logic in Kingdom Hearts 2 stated that defeating a heartless and a nobody makes a person whole again, and that the heartless and nobodies of a person are nothing more than incomplete beings of a person. So, Roxas, Namine, and Xion having their own bodies, as well as Roxas and Ventus exist at the same time as separate entities, just made things in my story more complicated, unless I addressed them ahead of time without changing my story too much.

If my story is to stay as it is, without making MAJOR changes that would only end up destroying what I want to do, I had to remake aspects of the last portion of the game so that it ties into my story much more smoothly which, as I realized while I was writing my own ending, re-writing the ending also made me introduce a few elements from my sequel series earlier than intended. This not only gives my readers an idea of what to expect for my series, but also helps Kingdom Hearts 3 tie into my series that much more smoothly, or so I'm hoping. I've done my best to make these changes as in-game friendly as possible. My changes also include how certain characters were treated in the game, and because of that, I tried to give them what you'll hopefully consider as "better treatment" than what they originally got.

For those of you who were satisfied with how Kingdom Hearts III ended, and what it's building up to, if you don't want to see anyone else but Nomura and Square Enix write the story, that's fine, feel free to follow where the canon story goes. For those of you who were satisfied with the game, but are willing to hear me out and see where I take the series, thank you for giving me a chance, and while I hope to entertain you, my primary goal is to tell a story that feels like a legitimate follow-up to Kingdom Hearts, not to pander to any low-tier fanfiction currently available online, nor any personal or political views that are currently trending. For those of you who were not satisfied with how Kingdom Hearts III (and maybe the series overall) ended with the "Xehanort Saga", and are hoping to either find some form of closure wherever you can get it, and/or see someone else's take on the series' direction in a way that satisfies you, again, I thank you if you _do_ end up giving me a chance, and while I hope to entertain you, my intent is to share my version of events at the end of the game as well as after the game, so while you may not agree with everything I have to share, I'll take constructive criticism to help improve my story, but not change it entirely. For those of you who are writing your own Kingdom Hearts fanfiction, whether it's a sequel series like mine, or something else entirely, feel free to read my stories and see what you think. I'm not trying to out-perform you, I just want to finally take the opportunity to share the story that I've been keeping in my head for years, a story that has developed over time, just like you want to share your stories with us.

I will also feature characters outside of Disney and Square Enix, most of whom will primarily be featured after my KH 3 alternate ending, however, a small handful will appear in my KH 3 ending as well. If that bothers you, don't worry, I won't go bat-shit crazy and have characters like Master Chief from Halo, or Lara Croft from Tomb Raider show up. I won't go full Super Smash Bros and have Solid Snake and Simon Belmont team up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy. But I will feature characters and franchises outside the Disney/Square Enix umbrella that I feel are cohesive to the Kingdom Hearts universe. I don't want to say anymore about that due to the risk of spoilers for my story, but what I WILL say right now so that we're all clear: I will NOT feature Star Wars characters. I love Star Wars, but I feel its lore is far too big and complex to fit into what I have planned for Kingdom Hearts. I will, however, have story elements that are _inspired_ by Star Wars, very much like what we've already seen in Birth By Sleep, but I will not have Luke Skywalker actually show up and fight alongside Sora and friends. If that bums you out, I'm sorry, but that's how I wrote my story. As for Marvel, while I will not feature the Avengers or Spider-Man (at least not in _this_ saga), I will have certain Marvel characters in my sequel series. It'll start out as a small cast of Marvel characters that will help branch out of the otherwise anime-like tone that the games have set. Then hopefully, once I've gotten my readers comfortable with the idea of established superheroes appearing in a Kingdom Hearts story (as opposed to just Big Hero 6), then I will feature more comic-book characters in my _next_ Saga, after the one that takes place after KH 3, and it won't just be characters from Marvel comics either. Again, if that bothers you, I only ask that you bear with me. I plan to introduce all these non-Disney and non-Square Enix characters in a gradual manner so that the concept grows on you.

Furthermore, while I won't address every single specific plot point that was brought up in the Kingdom Hearts games, I made it so that the plot points I DO address will imply how the rest of the canon will be affected in my story. I realize by now that I cannot just ignore certain things, because if you DO end up giving my series a chance, I figured you'd still want to know how certain plot points get resolved in my version, so I will attempt to ret-con certain elements in-universe so that it doesn't seem like the characters conveniently forgot any backstory, exposition, lore, or other characters that were brought up. And as I said earlier, this also means that I'll have to introduce certain elements of my Saga earlier than planned, but I will try to do so in a manner as in-game friendly as possible.

That's all I can say about that as far as what I want to include and what I want to change with the established canon. Anything else would only spoil my story, so if anyone still has any questions after reading my complete alternate ending for Kingdom Hearts III, I will do my best to answer your questions without spoiling what I have planned. I'll be blunt and honest with my answers, but I will also be respectful in the likelihood that you disagree with me on how the Kingdom Hearts series turned out. There are certain aspects I did not like, at all, but as I said, I can't just ignore them, so I will bring up as much as I can in my attempt to ret-con the lore and the KH 3 ending so as to pave the way for my story.

To anyone who is aware of the series Fate/Stay Night, and how its story has "alternate routes", which are sort of like alternate endings while also sharing the same base canon, if it makes it easier for you, you can consider my story an "alternate route" of sorts: where at some point in the Kingdom Hearts canon, my story diverges and takes on a route of its own, not completely ignoring what came before it, but not ending in the same way as before. With that said, I hope you enjoy my version of events, and that you look forward to what I have to offer in the future.


	2. Chapter 1 - Saving Aqua

I am not the owner or creator of any preexisting material featured in any of my works that I post here on this website or any other website. All pre-existing material used in my stories, and/or used to promote my stories, belong to their respective creators and owners. My stories are made and published for free, and I do not profit from any of the stories that I post in any way.

* * *

Sora, Donald, and Goofy, after completing their second wave of missions from the worlds of San Fransokyo, The Kingdom of Arendelle, Monstropolis, and The Caribbean, Sora finds himself stumped on where to head to next. Despite having been told by Riku and Mickey not to join them in the quest to rescue Aqua, it seems there are no other worlds for the trio to visit, as there has been no indication of worlds like The Pride Lands, Agrabah, or Atlantica to be under attack by Organization 13.

Ienzo didn't seem to make any headway with the data that Hayner, Pence, and Olette sent him concerning Ansem's virtual Twilight Town for Roxas, and it appeared that Kairi and Axel were still training with Merlin. At that thought, part of him yearned to see Kairi again. To be with her and to train with her, after having spent so long apart, would bring him great joy as well as comfort from the fact that he feels helpless, having been "benched" from the rescue effort with Aqua. He was about to suggest the trip to Donald and Goofy when suddenly, recognizable ring-tone erupted in the silence, startling the trio.

Jiminy Cricket, the ever-loyal chronicler, hopped on Sora's shoulder. "Sora, someone's calling us on the Gummiphone!"

Dale's red nose filled the screen, barely allowing the rest of his hysterical face to appear on the tiny monitor. "We've got BAAAD news!"

The trio, or rather, quartet, now expressed mild panic. Before Chip could continue, his more logical and collected counterpart Chip attempts to rip the ruby-nosed chipmunk from the device to elaborate on the situation.

"We've totally lost contact with the King and Riku! They're all on their own in the realm of darkness!"

"WHAAAAAATTT!?" the quartet cried in unison.

"See! I KNEW I should've gone!" Sora exclaimed, but Donald simply ignores him.

"Chip, how do we get to 'em?" screeched the short-tempered duck his notable semi-intelligible voice that Sora has become all too familiar with now. "NOW we can ask?" Sora interjected.

Goofy now decides to chime in, "It's not like we can use that big old door anymore. It's completely gone!" "Yeah, we closed it after beating Ansem" confirmed Sora, reminding the group of their perilous battle with the Heartless aspect of Xehanort on Destiny Islands all those years ago, when the boy began his journey.

"And we certainly can't ask the King or Riku", Jiminy brought up, as if stating the obvious. Sora, growing more irritated, "Cause _you_ wouldn't LET me ask!"

Dale's obnoxious face returns to the screen, wrestling control from Chip. "Ooonly King Mickey can open a door to the realm of darkness." Chip, as if more concerned to steal the scene himself now, shoves Dale away again. "It's because he has a _special_ "Keyblade of Darkness". He figured out how to make it open the way."

Sora couldn't help but let out a sigh, something like THAT would've been useful to learn a while ago, back when he was training with Riku, or when he was fighting the organization, or hell, like right now, since he's essentially done fixing the Organization's mess AGAIN, and can be useful elsewhere!

"Gwarsh, what'll we do then?" Goofy asked helplessly. Sora sat thinking, until his face lit up with an epiphany. "May our heart be our guiding key…. It'll show us the way!" More confident than ever, Sora stood up, summoned his Keyblade, and pointed forward. Goofy, Donald, and Jiminy all stare in anticipation.

The tip of the Keyblade lit up, and in the space beyond, a portal opened up as if on cue. "A gate!" Jiminy exclaimed, while Donald simultaneously yelled out "He did it!".

They keyblade then dematerialized from Sora's hand. "But… where does it lead?" "It doesn't matter", replied Donald, "GO!" Goofy seconded the notion, "Hurry, Sora!"

That's all Sora needed to hear, the support of his two friends who fought and travelled alongside him all these years dispelled any doubts he had. "Hmph, okay!" Sora sat back down on his seat, took hold of the ship's massive wheel, and the Gummiship dashed right into the newly-formed portal.

To their surprise, their destination was a familiar one. A place of nostalgia and comfort, a place of nearly unrivaled beauty in scenery and the epitome of innocence and bliss, where the air smells of sea water and the temperature a constant tepid delight. It was Destiny Islands, Sora's home-world. With the Gummiship parked within orbit, the group beamed onto the island where Sora and his friends spent countless days playing, swimming, and staring at the horizon, and the romantic sunset that acted as their signature day-ending event.

Sora was confused, "Why do you think that gate took us here?" As the group traversed the main beach, adjacent to the pine trees were Sora would sit and gaze at the sunset with his friends, Sora noticed something in the sand. A familiar-looking object, another Keyblade, but one he had never seen before, and the boy had used many keyblades over the years. Sora picked up the ancient-looking sword and inspected it, as if to confirm it was exactly what it looked like. "A Keyblade?"

"It looks so old," Donald noted. So, Sora thought right, it wasn't just a Keyblade, but an old one at that, as if from another era, unlike the newer, more trendy-based keyblades Sora had acquired recently. The design seemed bland, basic, even more so then the standard Keyblade that Sora started out with.

Goofy could only guess. "Hmm…. Maybe it's another _guiding_ key…" Sora had no other ideas, so it sounded plausible, "Sure, but to guide us where?" As if on instinct, without realizing it, Sora pointed the blade in the direction of the world's key-hole, which Sora sealed long ago to ensure it would not be corrupted by Heartless again. But lying in that direction was something more personal for Sora, it was the cave he shared with Kairi, the cave where he all but confessed his feelings for her by drawing himself offering a paopu fruit, a childish tradition which among friends, supposedly ensures that you always run into the one you shared it with, but it can also essentially equate to a asking one's hand in marriage, a thought that was not lost on Sora, or Kairi.

The tip of the ancient Keyblade began to glow, and in place of the small hole that lead into the cave, a door materialized, similar to the one Sora would see in his dreams when he would enter a type of trance and would be exposed to the meta-universe, and hear a mysterious voice that would beckon him embrace his fate and choose the type of warrior he wanted to be, but this one would lead somewhere else. "A door!" Goofy cried out. "Let's go!" Donald asserted. But Sora didn't share their enthusiasm, he knew what he needed to do.

"Not you guys" Sora commanded, much to their surprise. Taking several steps forward, Sora continued, "The realm of darkness – it isn't safe for you."

Donald wouldn't have it, it's as if the stubborn boy forgot who helped him defeat the man who claimed to be "Ansem" on this tiny island. "Forget it, I'm going!" Goofy wasn't letting Sora off lightly either, "Yeah, you can't make a whole pint without us!" Sora turned around, now addressing the Royal Magician and Captain of the Royal Guard directly.

"Come on, guys think about it. Even the King and Riku struggled in the realm of darkness. Someone needs to stay out here just in case. If something happens to the rest of us, **you two** need to carry on."

But still, the duo wouldn't give in, with Donald defying first, "Sora, stop it!" Goofy, as if letting some paternal instinct take over him, followed up with, "We understand, but we don't want you goin' someplace dangerous on your own."

Sora couldn't help but be touched, and proud of his comrades, all the more reason he couldn't risk them coming along. "Thanks guys. But I'll be fine." With a confident smile, he added, "I'll make sure Riku and the King are safe. Trust me."

The duo, with great reluctance, finally conceded to Sora's wishes, it was clear now he wouldn't budge. Donald then let his own paternal instincts speak for him, and spoke not intending to patronize, but endearingly, as if he was speaking to a child going to a friend's house for the first time, "You promise to be good?" Naturally, Goofy added to Donald's query, "And come home nice and safe?"

Sora, still keeping that confident smile, replied firmly, "Right!" And with that, he turned away, and headed for the door into darkness.

Ω

"Riku, look" warned Mickey, as the little King pointed to the swarm of Heartless about to pounce on the two. Despite both being masters, this mission could not have gone worse for Riku and Mickey. They have fought more heartless than they could count, yet every time they underestimate how much stronger they seem to be in their own domain.

Riku barely managed to dodge the oncoming attack, and couldn't manage to recover. "Riku!" Mickey attempted to aid his friend, but in doing so left himself open to a surprise attack from underneath. The Heartless swarm engulfed the unsuspecting mouse and hurled him skyward, with his high-pitched scream fading from Riku's ears.

Now disarmed, Mickey's blade fell to the ground, while Riku finally managed to gain some strength and attempted to stand up. "Mickey!" But no response, he was gone…. Riku couldn't fathom it, how could this have happened? They're both masters for God's sake, even if the worse happened, they should've been able to bounce back from this! Instead, Riku felt as helpless as he was the day the Heartless took his home from him. No… the day he _let_ them take his home…

Is that what this was? Did his arrogance get the best of him again? And did a king, and most powerful ally, pay the price for what should've been a rookie's mistake? As the swarm became more aggressive in its contorted aerial movements, a black sphere started to materialize, hovering over Riku. A shape then started to take form from the sphere, as if some demonic infant was pressing against the walls of a hellish womb. Then the shape suddenly sprang out from the sphere in an elegant manner. The shape landed gracefully before Riku, then rose and stood at its maximum height to meet the helpless boy's gaze. Behind the shape, from where it sprang from the sphere, Mickey dangled unconsciously, like a trophy. Mickey then managed to open his eyes, and to his horror, he saw Riku unable to stand before the ominous figure, who then proceeded towards Mickey's Keyblade still laying on the ground.

The figure reached for the Keyblade, held it as if reuniting with an old friend. "This keyblade" uttered the figure, in a surprisingly beautiful and enchanting voice, but the words were said with resentment, and a sense of betrayal. It was then when it suddenly dawned on Mickey. That voice, "Is it her?" Mickey gasped.

Riku acknowledged what the King said, but it didn't entirely register to him yet. Then the dark figure started to take a more prominent form, as the dark shroud covering its body finally started to evaporate. What stood before them was a beautiful woman, lean but fit in stature, garbed in sleek but revealing armor partially resembling a dress or cape. Her skin appeared tanned, and her hair a pale-blue color, and when she turned, her eyes glimmered a frightening dark yellow gaze. She then spoke again, "Mickey, you're too late."

Riku then started to recognize her, even now, despite appearing like a corrupted doppleganger, he couldn't help but remember the face of the stunning beauty who appeared before him and Sora when they were but small children. She appeared after the strange man did, the one who imparted onto Riku the power of the Keyblade.

Mickey was then overwhelmed by shame and failure. No, they couldn't be too late, there just had to be a way… "What happened?" the King dared to ask. Aqua's gaze shifted to Mickey, and her expression became more aggressive, as if she was insulted that he would ask such a question. Her rising anger crept into her voice, "You ABANDONED me, that's what. Left me in this shadow prison for more than a decade, **knowing** what it would do to me…"

Mickey was on the verge of tears. He couldn't believe it let it slip that the young keyblade wielders he met 10 years ago were still out there, alone, imprisoned, and God knows what else. He felt so stupid, how could he have done anything else BEFORE ensuring that these young kids were safe first? He must have thought he was doing the right thing, and that the end, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus would be reunited. But the King couldn't fool himself anymore, and a manner unbefitting of a King, but of a naïve and formerly altruistic musketeer, broke down before Aqua and Riku. "I'm sorry" Mickey managed to utter in between sobs, "it's all my fault."

But Aqua wasn't having it. His tears meant nothing to the years she spent in what she could only describe as hell, this _was_ hell as far as they were all concerned. She turned and faced the beach of this dark world, a somber yet beautiful sight of endless night and eternal loneliness. "I reached this shore after endless wandering", the scorned Keyblade Master hissed to her helpless prey, "Waited forever for help to arrive. But no one ever came. I lost my keyblade. Had no means of fighting my way back through the Heartless. You **should've** known I was stranded".

Yes, Mickey agreed silently, he should've known, should've focused on saving you first. Instead, after spending years mastering the Keyblade, he defended his home from the Heartless invasion before running into Riku, and eventually, Sora. Was he so selfish to do so? Should he not have first made his home safe, proving he was strong enough, before resuming his quest to rescue Aqua and the others?

Aqua continued, "Do you have ANY idea how **lonely** it is here? How frightening it is to have no one?" Her words pierced Riku's heart. He _does_ know, he had once been stranded here himself before he was lucky enough to be rescued by Sora, someone Riku had betrayed and lied to, and had no reason to save him, but he did. And yet, Aqua, who had selflessly sacrificed herself for her friends, received no such luck or reward…

Aqua continued again, "All that's left in my heart is misery, and despair… and now," Aqua's pose shifted, she was ready to rain judgement upon them, "YOU CAN SHARE IT!" Riku finally summoned the strength to stand up and face her. He knew what she was going through, and was confident in thinking that if he could come back, so can she. "There's no need," Riku exclaimed, "got my own." Indeed, Riku still had the power of darkness within him, which would mentally manifest as his young self when he was possessed by Xehanort's heartless, "Ansem", only now, Riku was the one in control.

With this realization, Riku summoned his Keyblade "Braveheart", which he received from Master Yen Sid after his previous Keyblade, the "Way to the Dawn", was destroyed the last time he and Mickey ventured into the realm of darkness, unprepared.

It was time, time to face Aqua, and defeat her. He HAD to defeat her, only then could he bring her back, the way Sora brought him back. If he couldn't accomplish this, he would never forgive himself for being weaker than the boy he strove so hard to surpass, not for competition, but to repay him back, a life debt almost.

Aqua, as elegant and stunning as ever, remained absolutely still as Riku made his way to her. He was a master, but so was she, and she was more familiar with the darkness then Riku ever was. She was going to teach Riku what a TRUE master is, what **true darkness** is like. As if to remind him of her power, she directed his gaze to Mickey before enveloping him in the sphere. But this did not phase Riku, much to Aqua's slight disappointment. Fine then, en garde.

With renewed energy, Riku rushed at her with impressive speed and aggressiveness, only to be met by the swarm. Oh not this time, Riku thought. No longer caring for his well-being, he slashed at the swarm, dodging and blocking its attempts to tackle and consume him. He landed a firaga spell at the swarm, causing it to collapse and dispel on the shore. Riku then soared and cut down any straggling Heartless, he **needed** to personally cut down a few of them, to make them feel like the helpless ones, before he used Thundaga to clear out the rest.

But then, Aqua quickly teleported behind him, and with graceful movements, tried to cut down her peer on his right side. But Riku managed to block her swing, only for her to twirl around and attack the left instead. Riku barely managed to counter this as well, before jumping back in an attempt to steady himself. Aqua didn't lose sight of him and quickly dashed forward, preventing him ample time to recover.

It was too late for Riku to physically block her again, forcing himself to rely on Reflega to shield her attack and knock her back. He could feel his Magical Power at dangerously low levels, and at this point had used all of his ether. He was hoping he could conserve what was left of his mP until he absolutely needed it, preferably with a Curaga spell, before having to endure the dreaded cool-down that indicated his MP was recharging. Riku figured he could rely on his own strength and speed, what a fool he was. Aqua was a master too, and at this point had embraced – no – surrendered to the darkness, and therefore wasn't as fatigued as he was. She could keep up with his strength and speed, but still, Riku had to fight, for Mickey's sake, for everyone's sake.

Riku charged at her again, and despite her effortless blocks and dodges, Riku persisted, and picked up the pace. She then had to rely to teleporting and after-images, to her surprise. This young boy, who fancied himself a Master, was able to keep up with her, and even push her back. Well then, she was done playing with him.

Riku was ready to take another pounce, and was even prepared to use up the last of his MP to fully recharge his health and finish this fight in one reckless final strike, until a bright portal materialized behind him. The light blinded him and Aqua, and then the light dimmed. Out of the light sphere sprang a recognizable figure who landed right next to Riku. A sight for sore eyes…. Sora. Riku couldn't help but chuckle to himself, the bastard actually came here after all. Well, whether it means he finally got the ability to return one's heart to its original body, the "power of waking", or if his crazy friend used his power of stubbornness to rip a hole in space and time to come to his aid, Riku was glad to see his best friend by his side.

Sora rose to hull height, "I made it", he said in his usual cheerful voice. "H-how… Sora?" Riku tried and failed to hide his amazement. Sora merely grinned and responded by temporarily summoning the ancient keyblade, "I… had a little help". Of course, Riku thought, it's Sora, just don't question it.

Sora then turned and faced Aqua, and couldn't help but feel a slight stabbing sensation in his heart. "Is…is that her?" Sora asked, hoping that Riku wouldn't say so. Riku solemnly responded "Yeah… that's Aqua".

At the sound of her name, Aqua merely scoffed as she took in this new development. "Well, look who ended up with a Keyblade after all", her remark got Sora to gasp in surprise and confusion. "And so much for me trying to spare you, both of you, from all this… this pain, the betrayal, and the lie that with this…._thing_…." she holds up Mickey's Keyblade and shakes it with contempt, "would bring you new meaning to your life, that you would be performing the most noble of deeds, ensuring that light triumphs over dark…. What a vile and cruel lie that was." She then points her Keyblade at Sora and Riku, prompting them to flinch in reaction. "Now you'll regret rejecting the mercy I gave you."

After a mutual acknowledging nod, Sora summoned his own Keyblade, the Kingdom Key, and the two made their signature battle poses. Amused, Aqua released Mickey from his dark imprisonment, she would need her full power and attention to bring these two down a notch. Riku's attention briefly went towards Mickey's seemingly lifeless body, but sensed that he wasn't dead yet. He'll live, Riku thought, once we take her down, we'll take them both back and heal them. Riku wasn't about to be shown up by Sora, nor was he gonna let his friend fight alone. While part of him resented the fact that he couldn't take Aqua down in time before Sora showed up, he felt it better to at least be of help to Sora instead, for all the times Sora helped Riku without giving up on him.

"Careful" Riku warned, "and remember she's not like the heartless or the Organization. She's a Keyblade Master, so expect her to use all the moves we can, and maybe even some we don't."

"Right" Sora responded instinctively. But Sora didn't lose any confidence, to him, if he was with Riku, or Donald and Goofy, he felt he could take on anyone. And with Riku by his side, not only did he feel they could beat Aqua, but that they could save her too.

Aqua then jumped in the air and flew back, teleporting from their view. This caused the two boys to gasp in shock, before Aqua reappeared behind them, flying in for the kill. Sora and Riku noticed her just in time to perform a dual-block, their Keyblades locking hers in place. The three struggled briefly, before Aqua violently lifted her Keyblade up and out of their lock. Aqua followed with a Thundaga, but Sora and Riku managed to retaliate with a Reflega, causing Riku to use up the last of his MP. Now he could feel that part of himself in a cooldown period, he was on his own now, as far as magic was concerned.

His frustrated expression was noticed by Aqua, who let out a devious grin before point her keyblade at him and releasing three energy balls that homed in on him. Riku did what he could and blocked them with his Keyblade, pushing him back, while Aqua took this time to lunge at Sora. Sora's well-timed block not only caused Aqua to briefly flinch, but allowed him to follow up with a counter. "Not so fast!" Sora yelled mockingly, as he unloaded a barrage of swings and jabs on her, getting her at least 6 times before his final hit knocked her further up in the air.

Noticing his combo was finished, Aqua, bearing the pain, proceeded to recover and attack Sora during the brief window after the end of his combo where he'd need to recover, only for Riku to jump up from behind him and land a combo of his own. Now this one Aqua really felt; unlike Sora, who's moves felt more like someone bashing her with a club or bat, Riku's cuts and slices were more apparent, making the blunt Keyblades _feel_ more like actual swords. It became clear to Aqua that, had she fought Riku at full strength, he would possibly be giving her a run for her money, and now there's Sora to deal with too.

Aqua could only put up with Riku's combo, until he finally finished and she was able to back away with her teleportation move instead. Riku and Sora both landed in the water off the shore. Standing back-to-back, the two waited for Aqua to pounce again.

Sora noticed Riku's wounds and asked "Why aren't you healing?" Riku talked as he gasped for air "I ran out of magic, I'll need a minute for to use Curaga". Sora let out a frustrated sigh, "I take it you don't have any ether on you?" Riku let out a scoff, "I used the last of it trying to deal with all the damn demon-tower heartless. Feel free to lend me one if you got 'em". "Heh, sorry, kinda used all mine in the last world I was in before I headed here, I didn't think it would be _this_ bad", Sora said nervously.

Riku sensed a bit of sarcasm in that comment and turned his head somewhat back to Sora, "What you mean _this_ bad?" he responded playfully, but with a bit of competitiveness and hurt pride. Sora started to reply "I _mean_\- " but then not one, not two, but three Aquas appeared around them, each firing an energy ball at the two. Sora and Riku each managed to deflect one, but the third ball ended up hitting Riku, knocking him down. "Riku!" Sora yelled as he tried to help his friend up, but Aqua took this time to attack Sora, but he reacted too late as Aqua managed to land several blows, separating the two boys.

Sora managed to counter one more blow from Aqua and responded with firaga, "Blaze!" Sora yelled. Aqua took the hit and retreated, and then immediately summoned more clones of herself. The lones all orbited around Sora in a clockwise faction, each rotating in place, dancing like a ballerina, before being enveloped in a miniature whirlwind, with the tips of their Keyblades held upward, and shards of ice appeared from the tips and homed in on Sora.

Sora ducked and dodged as many as he could, but the Aqua clones then all converged on Sora, similar to how the tea-cup attraction causes him, Donald, and Goofy to converge into a target, before proceeding to tear the target to shreds. Sora couldn't help but take the hits that the Aquas dealt on him, shredding his clothes and tearing at his skin. As the clones vanished, Aqua proceeded to cut down the wounded Sora, until she felt a blinding stabbing pain on her left side. Riku had rejoined the fight, and this time he was looking healthier.

Aqua cursed at herself, she underestimated how quick Riku would be able to rejuvenate his MP. As a Master, he would've learned Hastega by now. Sora took this opportunity to cast Curaga on himself while Riku landed another combo, tearing up Aqua's already revealing outfit and wounding her further. Sensing she was about to break out of his combo and counter, Riku quit while he was ahead and retreated back towards Sora, and the two stood side-by-side and got into their battle stances again.

Now Aqua was huffing a little bit, and while her face should frustration, she couldn't help but silently chuckle at these boys and the thought that, for the first time in a long time, she was struggling. Here she thought that she had fought all the hardest battles of her life, including Terra, when he had fallen to the darkness, but now, these two boys are able to pressure her. As if that wasn't enough, Sora then made his Keyblade to activate its transformation, while Riku activates the Blade Charge command style.

Aqua surmises that she won't be able to take them on now, but if she could get them to use up their transformations, she could strike while they're fatigued. Aqua teleports away again, only to teleport back, this time with more clones than she's every summoned. All the clones appear to talk at once, "I wonder the shadows endlessly…now you can share in the dark…"

Sora and Riku both proceed to take out as many of the clones as possible to zero-in on the real Aqua. The real aqua then takes this opportunity to use Waterga, submerging everyone under a massive wave, followed by a Blizzaga to freeze Sora and Riku in place. Aqua then lands on the shore as she looks on at the boys, frozen in place, but glowing, trying to break free of the ice. Once they do so, they both then collapse to one knee, having used most of their power to break free of the ice quickly, but at the price of using up their transformations. Aqua then dashes at both of them, summoning two clones, one side-by-side, and all three shoot energy balls at Sora and Riku, knocking them both back.

Aqua then slowly struts towards them, savoring their last moments before she cuts them down one by one. "I _was_ going to leave one of you alive, to roam the darkness alone, forever, after you watch the other die before your eye…" Aqua leers at both Sora and Riku, a stare that sends chills down both their spines. Suddenly, a massive ball of light hits Aqua from behind, sending her flying past Sora and Riku and into the water. Sora and Riku look back to the shore and see King Mickey, standing and fully healed. The two boys smiled and groaned in relief, as the King rushes towards them.

"Are you too okay?" Mickey asked with concern. "We are now", Riku responded dryly. "Never better", remarked Sora. "I'm sorry, fellas. Didn't mean to leave you two on your own, I'm kinda embarrassed as a Master to say the least, ha-ha…" Mickey's trademark chuckle somewhat hid the shame he felt, but his face showed it. Mickey then walks passed them, and towards Aqua, who is now rising above the water, elevating herself until she can stand on water's surface again.

"You guys take a break, I'll finish this now." Mickey commanded. "But your majesty" Sora rebuked, but Mickey held up his free hand, while his other hand summoned his original golden Keyblade, the Kingdom Key D. "This was something I should've done a long time ago. You two did great, but now, it's only right I finish it."

Aqua let out a scoff. "And what makes you think you can beat me, when you and Riku couldn't even beat a mere Heartless swarm?

"Because _now_ I know exactly what we're dealing with, which means I can go **all** out, since that's what it'll take to bring you back." Despite his high-pitched voice, all three humans surrounding the mouse couldn't help but feel that the little King was about to raise things up a few notches, with Sora and Riku both gulping in anticipation.

Aqua was about to summon several more swarms to try and distract and overwhelm the King, but the King had already started uttering one of the most powerful spells at his disposal, "Stopza!" And just like that, everything froze in place, and then Mickey speed-blitzes the helpless and unloads Sonic Blade on her, with a series of thrusts knocking out what's left of Aqua's vitality, before the Stopza spell ends, and Sora and Riku watch, dumbfounded as Aqua is seemingly hit by an invisible force of slashes while Mickey stands beside them as if he didn't move at all. And with that, Aqua falls down, defeated.

Mickey then casts Healing Light with what little MP he has left, rejuvenating the two boys. "You really should just start with that spell next time" Riku remarked. "He-he, that spell takes a lot out of me. Even with an Ether, I still have to wait before I can use a bunch of spells again at a time." Sora remains speechless, his mouth open and dumbfounded. "Wow Mickey" Sora finally responded.

"Oh, don't go selling yourselves short fellas. You guys did soften her up for me!" As he said that, they heard Aqua's body being unnaturally submerged in the water. "Aqua!" they scream in unison. They're too late as they rush to her body, Aqua has now been entirely submerged. As their muffled voices are heard, Aqua, now apparently free from the darkness, opens her eyes and looks up at the silhouettes above the water. "So… this is the end?" Aqua asks rhetorically as she closes her eyes again. But then she hears a voice call her name loud and clear. She gasps and opens her eyes. "Sora…" she responds in a dazed tone. A hand reaches out to her, and without hesitation, her arm sluggishly reaches out to it. As soon as she grabs hold, everything turns white.

Ω

By the time she opened her eyes again, Aqua is laying on a beach. Ah, it seems I'm still here, she thought. I'm always here, and will always be here. But despite the fact that she hasn't opened her eyes yet, already she can tell that it's much brighter than it usually is, and warmer too, with a nice and soothing breeze, and the sound of seagulls in the distance.

Aqua struggles to open her eyes, the blinding sunlight overwhelming her lenses as they have not had to adapt to such light in 10 years. When her eyes finally able to focus, she notices two people standing beside her, looking down at her. They appear to be recognizable, both of them say her name, "Aqua!"

Aqua weakly responds with surprise and aching joy, "Ven? Terra?" But her eyes are able to focus further, revealing that it's actually Sora and Riku, both of whom say her name again, "Aqua!", as if they're hoping she'd respond to let them know she's alive. This jarring realization causes Aqua to respond awkwardly, but still with appreciation, "It's you…" She then looks to her right and sees King Mickey standing beside her as well.

In a joyous and relieved expression, Mickey proclaims, "Thank goodness! You're awake!" Noticing he had dried off tears from his face, Aqua acknowledges him as well, "Mickey…." Then Aqua finally realizes her surroundings, and looks around to see that she recognizes this place. "Are these….. the Destiny Islands?"

"That's right" Mickey responded. Aqua's smile quickly faded, as she assumed another world had been taken. "When did they fall to darkness?" she asked regrettably. But Riku merely scoffed and shook his said, smiling. "You're in the realm of light", he said reassuringly. Aqua then stares at him in disbelief and shock. No…that's not possible, she thought. She had already accepted that she would be stuck in darkness forever, never again to see the light, never to see anyone again, to feel their warm touch….to believe as such would only sink her deeper into despair, the only way she could remain strong was adapt and accept the darkness. But…could it be? Am I back? She pondered, and without realizing it, tears started trickling down her face. She proceeded to wipe away the tears, until she saw that her hands, her skin, was its normal complexion again. Fair, smooth, and perfect. Her hair was its sapphire blue color as well.

Sora then let out a friendly chuckle and offered his hand, "you're home". Behind him, two other voices echoed his statement, "You're home!" It was Donald and Goofy, and the two lightly dog-piled on her and embraced her. At this point Aqua didn't even bother wiping away the tears, as she was still processing the fact that she was feeling the warmth of friends again, the warmth of love and happiness, instead of the cold and cruel claws of darkness, violating her once pure body whenever they could…. Sora, Riku, and Mickey joined in the dogpile as well, and as they all embraced Aqua, Sora announced, "We did it!"


	3. Chapter 2 - Retrieving Ansem

Twilight Town, a place rivaled only by the refugee world Traverse Town that evokes a sense of romance and lethargy, a place where the worst of your troubles would be whether all the "seven wonders" had already been discovered, or the train running late while on its commute between districts. If there was a place in our world that could come close, it would have to be a combination of Paris and Venice, if the two also had a hint of steampunk architecture. The best time of day to visit this peaceful town would be in the hours of dusk, when the sun is about to sink into the mountains just before the horizon.

It is here where the wizard Merlin, and his pet owl Archimedes, currently reside, just outside the new Scrooge McDuck's new Bistro, finding a moment of respite from training Lea and Kairi in the ways of the Keyblade. A sorcerer unrivaled in the mastery of the magic arts, save maybe for Yen Sid, a former Keyblade Master and King Mickey's mentor, Merlin's life is steeped with mystery, misdirection, and contradiction, so it is difficult to determine just how old he really is. It is said that his mother was a princess of Atlantis, but it is also said that his father was supposedly a supernatural incubus who lived in the space between worlds.

Merlin initially rose to fame through his unique ability to see into the future, an ability few others can match without utilizing dangerous means. It said that during his youth, it was this ability, along with his wisdom, that allowed him to aid many historical and mythical kings of old, including but not limited to King Arthur of Britain, King Charlemagne and his Twelve Paladins, and Exalt Chrom of Ylisse. These days, Merlin can now travel through time seemingly without consequences, but tries to limit himself to using such power for personal site-seeing purposes, lest he change history for the worst.

The mysterious Wizard was enjoying his cup of tea while safe-guarding the book of Winnie the Pooh that not too long ago was visited by Sora. Beside the book are numerous pages of the Secret Reports gathered over the years, with notes and other scribbles written on them, indicating they've been read and analyzed numerous times. Merlin appeared to be lost in thought, "Hmmm, it should be any time now, those kids with more courage than I've seen in normal folk, trying to intervene in affairs far over their head."

"Who? Whoooooo?!" cried Archimedes while perched on Merlin's right shoulder. The grumpy and sarcastic owl then did a short glide onto the coffee table to address Merlin more directly. "I'd like to know who!"

"Now now, my dear Archimedes" Merlin said, trying to calm down his old friend, still trying to enjoy a moment's peace before he had to get back to the events at hand, namely the fight against Master Xehanort. "These children", he continued, "They not like our dear Keyblade students, in fact they have no powers to speak of. And yet they have taken it upon themselves to aid Sora in trying to bring back their lost friend of theirs, the nobody Roxas."

Archimedes scoffed "Hmph, but I was under the impression that, being a nobody, Roxas had returned to the body of who he came from, which you told me was this boy, Sora. I couldn't believe when Yen Sid told us that that silly boy thinks he can bring Roxas back, even though Nobodies and Heartless are incomplete beings, and can only cause trouble".

"Perhaps", Merlin agreed, "and yet certain Nobodies are said to retain a human like form, if the hearts of their previous life were strong enough. We cannot deny that this Roxas boy lived a life of his own, however brief it was. But alas, you are correct, I don't see how this could end well for Roxas. Do not fret, however, as there is still the chance of Roxas' memories surviving either through Sora, or the other boy that he shares a connection with, namely Eraqus's third student, Ventus."

Archimedes let his face get contorted in frustration, "Assuming neither Sora or this Ventus fellow start getting their memories confused from the life that Roxas lived." Merlin again showed his agreement with a sad nod. "Yes, and poor Lea still cannot forgive himself for how he treated Roxas during his final days with the Organization. Even now he beats himself up over it, and then he started talking about this girl within the Organization as well."

Archimedes' face turned side-ways, like a dog when it hears something curious, "Oh? Is it that lightning rod of a wench, Larxene?" Merlin let out a chuckle, "No no, silly owl, no, but Lea seems to be having trouble describing this girl. He can't remember her face, or even her name, only that she resembles Kairi in some way."

"Are you sure it was wise to leave Lea and Kairi under the care of Archer? That man is hardly suitable as teacher, let alone one for Keyblade wielders". "Archer has a versatile skillset", Merlin recounted, "One that will be useful for preparing Lea and Kairi for the various threats they will be facing in the near future, if they are to hold true to their promise to aid Yen Sid's band against Xehanort. His powers of projection and reinforcement allow him to use a variety of weapons, which makes him not only a good sparring partner, but also a valuable ally for us."

Archimedes remains unimpressed, "Hmph, that man always appears unstable. I don't know what he did before you summoned him, but it's quite clear that he cannot be trusted, he keeps too much too himself, how do we know he won't betray us? How do we know Xehanort didn't summon him first, and then sent him to you as a spy?"

"You worry too much, Archimedes," Merlin replied, now tired of arguing with the owl. "Archer has the right to keep some aspects of his life to himself, who are we to pry? How would you like it if-" Merlin pauses suddenly and stares into space, as if he barely noticed something in the distance, "Oh dear", he said.

This did not help with Archimedes' already short temper, "What, who? What-what?"

"It's starting," Merlin said. "The events I've seen are coming to pass….oh well, time to head off, old friend, it seems our break is over…. I was hoping I didn't have to use this form outside of training with Archer, Lea, and Kairi, but alas, it seems I must once again get directly involved in messy affairs."

Archimedes scoffed and replied, "Ha! One would think you'd know that, what with you seeing the future and time-travelling and all that."

Merlin let a smile slip onto his face, and began to glow a bright white light, his features changing but barely visible within the light, and then both he and Archimedes disappeared, and the light flicked out.

Ω

Not too far away from the Bistro, at the Old Mansion, a portal to darkness opens. Xehanort's heartless steps out, followed by Ansem the Wise, his former mentor in a previous life. The two looked at each other and groan in contempt, all the memories spent at this house rush back into both their minds, and it's clear they are unpleasant for both of them.

Unbeknownst to them, the three kids Hayner, Pence, and Olette, watch from a distance behind a tree, just outside the gate into the Old Mansion's estate. The chubby boy, Pence, can barely contain his excitement, "It's about time!" The slimmer boy, Hayner, rushes to him and covers his mouth, Pence yelled that out a little too loudly, "Hey, shut it!" Hayner whispered angrily.

The three kids looked back out to see if the two men heard them, they didn't. The three sighed in relief, "Come on" Hayner declared, and the three kids headed closer towards the mansion.

Just before Ansem and Xehanort head to the front door into the mansion, Ansem stopped in his tracks, unable to take another step. Xehanort caught wind of this, turned to face his old mentor whose name he stole, and his impatience skyrocketed, "What now?"

Ansem looked up, and stared at the window on the upper far-left floor of the mansion, with a face that spoke volumes of his guilt over his past experiments. What he did in the name of research, to be called "Ansem the Wise", was inhumane. How was he any better than the Organization, a group of intergalactic terrorists hell-bent on acquiring Kingdom Hearts for their own ends? At least Ansem felt the guilt, and would not stoop to their level anymore.

"Please," Ansem begged, abandoning his calm composure from when he was taken from Aqua, before she fell into darkness. "I have created enough victims.

"Yes, you have" Xehanort agreed. "All the children sacrificed in the name of your research…. So make things right."

"I told you I did not take her", Ansem persisted. "Her disappearance was why I put a stop to the research."

"And that makes you honorable?" Xehanort scoffed, not falling for any attempts from the old man at gaining sympathy. "You used Roxas and Namine and threw them away. I doubt there's a merciful bone in your body! You took the girl, and hid her." Xehanort turned back to the mansion and commanded, "Now, show me the data you are hiding here."

Ansem thinks back to those two kids used by the Organization, and countless more used under him, "Roxas and Namine… If there is any reason that I still draw breath, it is to atone for what I did to them."

Just outside the estate, Pence and Olette gasp at the mention of their friend Roxas. Well, not their friend, but according to Sora, who they reunited with a little while ago, Roxas was a boy who lived in a virtual version of Twilight Town, and was close friends with that version of Hayner, Pence, and Olette. After hanging out with Sora, and hearing about Roxas, the trio agreed that he seemed like a cool guy, and vowed to help bring him back, no matter what.

Pence whispered, "He said Roxas!" "Yeah" Hayner replied, hiding on the other side of the gate into the mansion estate. Olette chimed in, "That man needs us!", referring to Ansem. The two boys agreed, and the trio then resumed spying on the two cloaked men.

Ansem resumed, "If you do find the girl, what is it that you expect will happen?"

Xehanort replied, "The child's memory holds a mystery to unravel – one concerning the battle we seek between light and darkness. You know something, and that is why you stopped the experiments."

Now Ansem was done acting weak in front of his former apprentice, and was not to be talked down to anymore. "You are completely deluded, Xehanort."

But Xehanort only smirked, he knows his former mentor too well, "We shall soon see". He reached forward and grabbed the old man, and tried to shove him into the house.

Then, while their backs turned, Pence runs out into the open, "Yoo-hoo!" The two men were slightly startled and stopped in their place. "Excuse meee!" Pence continued.

Xehanort's impatience rose even further, and turned around to address this foolish and untimely development. "Who are you?" he groaned.

Pence, who wasn't expecting the younger man to address him so casually, awkwardly tried to continue the conversation, "Oh well, I'm looking for a friend who used to live here." As the two men faced the young boy, Olette had snuck into the estate by climbing on the walls, and quietly made her way towards Ansem.

"No one lives here, begone!" Xehanort declared. Pence dared to continue to keep his attention, and took a few steps closer to Xehanort "Um… but sir…"

Now Xehanort looked concerned, and in an out-of-character like manner, tried to warn the boy away "No-no-no! Not one more step. Get out!" But it was clear he would have to physically force the chubby boy away, so he went towards him. Using this opportunity, Olette sprang forward to grab Ansem by the hand.

"This way!" Olette whispered to the startled elderly, and pulled him away. Xehanort hear this and turned around, completely irritated and confused at how this whole situation unraveled. Hayner then jumps out into the open, and runs toward Xehanort while his back was turned, intended to kick him right in the face. "Hey loser!" Hayner cried out, declaring what was supposed to be his surprise attack.

But suddenly, Xehanort's guardian, a frightening heartless-like creature that resembles a black genie with large horns, materializes and catches Hayner by the foot while he was still mid-air. "Ooorr not!" Hayner cried out again. "Ughh, Hayner!" Pence groaned.

The guardian threw a screaming Hayner towards the wall of the estate, but before his body was able to land on the hard brick border, a white rope-like object slithers out of no-where and catches Hayner, wrapping him in a secure hold and safely landing him on the ground. Then more of these rope-like entities emerge from all around the group, before materializing into Dusk nobodies, and surround Xehanort and his guardian.

Pence lets out a surprised gasp, "The squiggly things?" Then the white rope that had saved Hayner unravels, setting him loose, before also materializing into a Dusk nobody, and proceeds to join its kin in keeping Xehanort at bay.

Hayner could not understand what he was seeing, as he remembered these things had terrorized Traverse Town not too long ago, but now, "They…. protected me" he remarked. But Pence was the one thinking clearly now, and he grabbed his friend by the arm, "Hayner! Get a move on!"

"Oh, okay" Hayner replied, still startled, but he managed to rise to his feet, and the two boys ran off into the woods.

Xehanort now addressed the Nobodies in a commanding tone, "I serve the Organization. This is treason." But then he smiled, as if he realized something. "I see what is happening. Have it your way then."

Ω

In the sewers, Ansem and Olette are catching their breath, confident that they made enough distance from Xehanort. Shortly after, Hayner and Pence arrive behind them. "Are you guys ok?" Olette asked concerningly. Hayner answered first, "Yeah, I think."

Pence took over, "Nobody knows the twists and turns of Twilight Town better than us."

Ansem took this time to study all three of the kids who risked their lives for him. Then he spoke, "You are Roxas's friends?"

"That's right", Hayner replied, "So you know him, too?"

"Oh yes, quite well", Ansem recalled.

"Pay dirt", Pence said with satisfaction. "Guess it was worth staking out the old mansion after all, because this guy here is what I call a lead." He then pulled the photo of him, Hayner, Olette, and Roxas that was taken in the virtual Twilight Town.

Olette speaks up, "That's the only proof we have that Roxas was our friend."

The three then look to Ansem, and Hayner asks, "Tell us about him. We wanna know him better."

But the group is interrupted by another voice further in the sewers, and it called out sarcastically, "My dear master. You are safe." It was Vexen, one of the smarter students under Ansem's tutelage, rivalled only by the younger and prodigious Ienzo.

"Who's there?!" Hayner yelled out defiantly, facing the new enemy. But Ansem asked calmly, "Even, is that you?" Vexen stood there in silence, so Ansem surmised, "So… those nobodies were your doing?"

Behind Vexen, four more Dusk nobodies appeared, two on each side of him, causing the three kids to shriek in terror.

Vexen finally speaks out, "It seems dear Xehanort is falling to his other persona again, the Keyblade wielder Terra. I haven't seen it this bad since before we did our coup on you. Part of the keyblade apprentice still lurks in there somewhere, and he was going to ensure that we lost Subject X forever."

The three kids stare at him in confusion, but Ansem recognized that term all too well. Vexen continued, "But Xehanort's actions do bring up a good point, if we finally acquire her, the amount of data we could gain from her would be unfathomable as far as not only completing our goal of activating Kingdom Hearts, but discerning the truth of the past, about the Keyblade War, about the One World, all of it! Now, tell me where did you hide her?!"

The three kids again looked at Vexon in confusion, while Ansem remained stoic and silent. Again, Vexen continued, "I don't know exactly when you did it, but who else could've had access to her cell? Who else would be foolish enough to do away with her after catching some sense of guilt or a conscience?"

"You will never use her again, Vexen. If I die keeping her location from you, then my only regret would be that I did not atone for **all** my sins before my passing."

Vexen groaned in frustration, but then laughed hysterically. "Fine then, I will make you tell me, then I will rise above the ranks of the Organization even further!"

Vexen motioned his hand towards Ansem and the kids, and at his silent command, the 4 Dusk nobodies charged at the group. Ansem was not as powerful as he once was, and he no longer commanded the powers of Darkness enough to defend himself or the kids. But still, he charged in front of the kids, raised his hands on either side, and attempted to defend them from the upcoming charge.

But then, before anyone could react, a bright light shined forth in between Vexen and the group, and a single slash in the air obliterated all 4 Dusk nobodies. It took a second for everyone to register what had happened, since the light temporarily blinded them. When the light finally went out, a single figure where the nobodies were slain. The figure wore a white robe and a hood covering its face, while inside the robe the figure wore a black tunic, with gold cross-like markings on the legs-coverings of the tunic. In its left hand was an odd-looking staff, part of which curved inward towards the top, making a shape similar to a question mark, with the tip of the curve straightened out like the rest of the staff below it, only in a spiral-like motion. Attached to the staff was an empty scabbard, and in the figure's right hand was a sparkling golden sword.

The owl Archimedes then appeared from above, and landed on the figure's right shoulder, "Alright then, Merlin, stop showing off and save these people already." The man smiled and turned to face the group, and they saw his youthful beardless face and silver-white hair from underneath the hood.

Merlin then addressed them, "My friends, Archimedes here will escort you out, while I deal with this nuisance.

"Stay out of this, wizard!" Vexen cried in frustration, but Merlin calmly turned back toward the black-cloaked scientist and pointed his sword at him. "Oh, trust me, I wanted to stay out, fighting like this is no longer my style, not since I was no longer too lazy to utter spells instead of just smacking people with my sword and staff. But hey, not everyone gets what they want."

Archimedes took off from Merlin's shoulder and flew towards the group, "Come along young ones, my good sir. None of you want to be here for this."

Pence protested, "But I do! This looks like it'll be awe-" but was interrupted by Archimedes, who landed on his head and started pecking on it with his beak. "No, no, no! Foolish boy, when I say move, you MOVE!" The group then made their way towards town, leaving Merlin and Vexen alone, finally.

"You will regret this!" Vexen cried out.

"Oh, what are you gonna do, throw a microscope at me?" Merlin replied nonchalantly. Vexen then summoned his shield, Frozen Pride. The shield was round at the top but formed a sharp point at the bottom, and was a blue color with silver borders, with five sharp arrow-like protrusions along the top.

"Ladies first" Merlin declared, and with that, Vexen charged at him with an angry groan. Merlin charged forward as well, and the two met each other with a furious clang of their weapons. The two, now inches from each other, stared into each other's eyes intently. Then the two break away and retreat backwards, with Vexen taking the opportunity to form an ice-like sword from the shield to match Merlin in physical combat.

Merlin then shoots three energy balls from his staff, and Vexen shoots three Blizzaga shards at them to counter. Once the two spells finish cancelling each other out, Vexen looks down to see Merlin gone form his spot, only to sense Merlin coming up behind him. Vexen barely managed to block Merlin's blade striking his left side, and then attempted to swing his ice sword onto Merlin's left side, only to be blocked by Merlin's surprisingly sturdy staff.

"Something tells me you don't fight very much, do you?" Merlin surmised cheekily. "You seem to rely more on your shield and ice magic, while your data replicas do the dirty work, am I correct?"

Vexen responded with hurt pride, "One such as myself should have no need to dirty my hands interacting with the likes of you!" With a screech, Vexen summoned three more Blizzaga shards above him, and hurled them towards Merlin. The white wizard notices this and back away safely, the shards hitting the ground and breaking apart.

Merlin than stands up straight, "Well, looks like I'm gonna have to finish this quickly, and I can't do that here."

Vexen looks at the wizard with contempt, "You over-estimate yourself, you hack!" But Merlin merely smirks, then, with his sword still in his right hand, grabs his staff with both hands and uses its base to hit the floor, and suddenly light spreads from the point the staff touched the ground, enveloping both Merlin and Vexen, forcing the latter to cover his eyes.

When the light finally died out, Vexen uncovered his eyes to see that he was no longer in the sewers of Twilight Town, but in a field of blooming flowers. A tower was seen in the distance behind Merlin, and Vexen finally gathered that the wizard was going to prepare for a powerful attack, otherwise he wouldn't have transported them both away from civilians.

Holding his shield up, Vexen hissed, "You would get along with Marluxia."

Merlin's eyebrow raised, "Oh? A fellow botanist, is he?" Before Vexen could answer, Merlin raised his sword-hand straight up, and the sword began to glow a brilliant yellow, getting more intense as the seconds go by. "It's a shame you went down this path," Merlin stated, "had you chosen another route, you could've been on the winning side, but I guess it just didn't work out for you this time?"

Vexen gritted his teeth and yelled at the wizard, summoning countless blizzaga shards, all pointed at the wizard. With his shield still up, Vexen motioned the shards toward Merlin, while Merlin finally released the energy built up in his sword.

"EX….CALIBUR!" with that word, Merlin swung his sword down, and a massive amount of energy burst forth from the sword and shot towards Vexen, annihilating all his ice shards and overwhelming his shield. Vexen let out one more cry, and then ceased to be. The remains of the energy from the sword died out, and all that remained was a massive scar on the field. Merlin then looked dissatisfied, "Ugh, now look what you made me do… all my flowers…."

Ω

Back at their hideout, the three kids, Ansem, and Archimedes sat patiently, waiting for Merlin to come to them.

Hayner finally broke the silence, "Are you sure that guy knows where to find us?" he asked the owl.

"Oh, trust me young fellow", Archie responded, "it's hard to hide from that man. He'll find us soon enough, and don't about him, he can take on that effeminate goon without a hitch."

Ansem then spoke up in a solemn voice, "I thank you again, all of you, for risking yourselves for me. I was afraid I would have lost my life before I had the chance to atone for my sins."

The three kids and the owl stared at him, with the kids all letting out a sad sigh. But then Pence said in a reassuring tone, "Whatever you did, it couldn't have been too bad! It sounded like those other guys just tricked you into teaching them stuff, then kicked you out before you could stop them!"

Ansem appreciated his words, but could not bring himself to accept them. "If only it was easy as that, young one. Subject X was an attempt at replicating another's abilities and memories, even if said person had been deceased for a long time. Due to the difficulties we had of regaining her lost memories, it was then decided to use a replica, a human doll-like contraption of our making, to absorb her memories, and perhaps even her abilities in the process. The theory was that the replica would then be able to present the memories in a fashion more readily readable for us. Unfortunately, it was here when we discovered that the replicas could also be used as weapons, due to their abilities weakening the host, draining them of their life force. As you can see, the experiment had dangerous applications outside of scientific and historical discovery. It could be used as an interrogation technique, or even a weapon to steal whoever it is you sought to dominate, and it would become an obedient doll, provided you could control the memories absorbed along with the powers of the individual."

Ansem paused to observe the reactions of the kids and the owl as they listened to him, expecting them to be frightened or disgusted at what kind of man he was, but to his surprise, they looked at him without judgement, while Archimedes looked at him sternly, but otherwise Ansem couldn't get a negative reading out of them. With that, he continued, "The idea of a replicating doll absorbing another's life force was actually introduced to me by someone else, a man equally gifted in the ways of science, no, I dare say he surpassed even me." The kids and owl all let out a surprised gasp. "He was a traveler, not unlike Sora and his friends, and while I didn't ask the traveler to train under me like with Xehanort, he instead wished to share knowledge with me, deeming me 'worthy' as such. Initially, I thought he was an arrogant young man, but his knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, astrology and astronomy, all the scientific fields, utterly blew away my expectations of him. This was before I took in Ienzo, a prodigy in his own right, and even though I was ecstatic to work with him, he insisted that he could not stay long, that he had other plans."

Archimedes interrupted, "Young man, eh? Couldn't have been Master Xehanort, unless it was his past self, travelling around and mucking things up. But from what I gathered from Merlin and Yen Sid, you didn't meet him until he was possessing that poor boy's body"

"Indeed", Ansem agreed, "The man you described, this Master Xehanort, is not someone I recognize. But the Xehanort I worked with was quite young when I first met him, and by then I had Ienzo and several others working under me. While I was trying to perfect my replica program, this traveler told me of another, more efficient process of storing energy and memories called Homunculi"

"Humma-what?" Pence blurted out, and Hayner and Olette looked at him angrily for interrupting Ansem. "What?" blurted Pence again.

But it was Archimedes who took over the exposition, "Ah, a homunculus, the representation of a small human being, at least that's what the original concept was when alchemists brought it up centuries ago. Ancient alchemists theorized that all organisms were created at the same time, and were 'pre-formed' as miniature versions of themselves, before eventually progressing and maturing into what you are used to seeing today in people and animals. This was an early attempt to explain the origins of creation, and of course others believe that only certain species of organisms came about first, after the creation of the Original World from which all worlds today supposedly split apart from. In order to prove this theory, alchemists, and eventually mages as well, would try to artificially create homunculi based on what they thought were the conditions that brought them about in the first place. After many years, though, it became more apparent that this idea preformationism was losing its validity as more evidence came about that discredited the theory, namely ancient civilizations and the forms the inhabitants and animals had at the time."

Ansem stared at the owl, impressed, "You are very well read, master Archimedes".

Hearing adoration from a fellow intellectual pleased the owl, "Well, I'm the smart side of Merlin after all, I'm surprised he gets on at all without me around. Anyway, while the theory of preformationism died out, the creation and use of homunculi only rose in popularity. Since the only evidence of a homunculus was the experimental beings created by alchemists and mages, the term eventually became affiliated with an artificial life form, as opposed to the miniature precursor of all-natural life forms. Alchemists and mages discovered that their homunculi had unique properties, namely they could store power and information, making them valuable for manual labor as well as research. Their human-like appearance made them easy to get along with, while their lack of true emotions made them expendable, and therefore did not apply to any laws protecting any rights of those considered 'living beings', at least, not at first. Back then, alchemists and mages seemed to have more efficient means of extracting the life force as well as magical energy, and storing them into a homunculus, but their specific methods have been lost. What we do know is that at some point, using a homunculus became illegal, as the lines between what makes someone a life form, and therefore have certain rights, became blurred, and the higher ups of the time warned of dangerous notions on how homunculi could change the very foundation on how we view ourselves and the universe around us. At the time, very little information was available on how we were created, since the discovery and use of homunculi was after an event called "The Great Cataclysm" that seemingly created all the worlds from the One, so people got all philosophical about our origins, and what the nature of the homunculi implied of us. People were afraid that we would all worry that we were descendants of someone else's creation, left to fend for ourselves, and that we could no longer justify our lives, or something along those lines. Quite frankly, I always assumed someone got cozy with a homunculus, and then got misty eyed when that person heard the homunculus was 'misused', and made a whole debacle of it. If you can't tell the difference between a human and a homunculus, then you're a damn fool!" the owl ended with a hoot.

Ansem then spoke up, "Be that as it may, I did not possess the means to procure a homunculus of my own, but with the tools I had at the time, the replicas were the closest I was able to achieve."

Olette then chimed in, "Excuse me, you said something about a Great Cataclysm?"

"Yes" the owl responded, "for now it seems that the Keyblade War of long ago might be the great cataclysm that Merlin and I discovered in our research not too long ago, which of course, would then completely change the timeline of when the Keyblade war supposedly took place. Those of us who are aware of it have been told that it took place barely a couple of centuries ago, which of course was suspicious even then. And yet that's what everyone was told to go along with, as if they were all compelled to leave the matter alone. I suppose I can understand the nature of forbidding certain knowledge, such as the homunculi, but for historical purposes, you'd think we'd want more detail on the War, so as to not repeat it. And quite frankly, I'm surprised that your wandering genius knew about the Homunculi, master Ansem, let alone suggest them for your own work with the replicas. Only certain Keyblade masters knew of this information, and even then, they were tight-lipped about it. If it wasn't for Merlin's reputation that helped him gain a strong professional relationship with the Keyblade Masters via Yen Sid way back then, even he wouldn't have stumbled upon this information, which we only recently were able to discover now that the situation has become dire enough for us to desperately search through all the Secret Reports Yen Sid was able to salvage in the Mysterious Tower for anything useful. Did this traveler mention anything else about him? Where he came from, his goals, anything? Could you describe his physical features?"

Ansem thought hard for a little while before finally answering, "The only other matter he brought up to me, and this was when he was about to resume his travels, was that he had to look for a black box, and that the conditions must be right to obtain the box if he was to learn the truth. As for his appearance, he kept his face hidden behind a mask or helmet, and otherwise wore a cloak with a hood. It seems customary these days to hide your appearance as such."

The kids and the owl then stared intently at Ansem, contemplating his words. "A black box?" Archimedes said, "Nothing else? Did you ask about what this box was?"

Ansem shook his head, "He would not elaborate anymore, that's all that he was willing to share with me, if only to enlighten me somewhat on what he was searching for during his travels."

Then a voice came from outside the hideout, startling all but Ansem and Archimedes, "A black box, you say?" It was Merlin, still in his younger form, and he cackled silently when he saw that he shocked the kids so suddenly. "Well, from what I've been told by my sources, the evil fairy Maleficent is looking for a black box these days, and that she was led on this merry goose chase by a cloaked man."

Archimedes, unamused, addressed Merlin casually, "I take it you dealt with the so-called scientist member?"

"Indeed" replied Merlin, "and I surely hope you don't have anymore information on replicas stored anywhere, do you Ansem?"

"Indeed not" the wise sage replied, "I would not have another poor soul, artificial or otherwise, but put to horrid use. I took the blueprints and had them destroyed."

Satisfied, Merlin said, "Well, in that case, we might as well secure you in your old residence, the Radiant Gardens, so that you're no longer at risk by the Organization. I've already let Leon and Ienzo know that we're coming"

Ansem looked away and contemplated Merlin's plan. "To go back to my home, after all these years…. And Ienzo is there, you say?"

"Indeed" confirmed Merlin, "Once we secure you there, I'll relay everything you guys talked about here with Yen Sid back at the Tower." Ansem nodded in agreement, then Merlin continued, "And uh…. Sorry kids, we're gonna have to wipe your memories of this, can have top-secret stuff in your heads."

All three kids then yelled out in protest, but it was Pence who said, "Aww! You don't trust us?!"

"I mean, I kinda don't" Merlin replied, "but not because I think you'll be announcing to the whole town everything you heard here with a microphone or anything, assuming you understood an iota of what Archie or Ansem said?" The kids then chuckled nervously. "It's because there are people out there who would love to have information like this, and they have very nasty means of getting it out of you. Even if you kids don't remember everything you heard now, if someone bad finds out that kids like you know even a little bit of this, they won't be kind to you when the rip the information out of you, and they'll be able to get all the information out of your head, whether you personally remember it all or not."

The kids then reluctantly agreed, but before Merlin was about to obliviate their minds, Hayner asked, "Wait! What about Roxas? And the virtual Twilight Town? We were hoping to find enough data in there to maybe… I don't know…. Rebuild Roxas and bring him back somehow. We sent what data we could to that Ienzo guy, but we haven't heard back yet…."

They all faced Ansem, who then answered, "You will not find anything useful in there, I assure you. What little information there _is_ concerning Roxas, you will not be able to revive him with that."

"And besides" Archimedes interrupted, "Roxas is a nobody, so he's already where he's supposed to be. If anything, it's Ventus that we need to worry about, but that's none of your concern, children."

"But don't fret", Merlin said, taking over, "We've found out that Sora is housing another heart inside him, and if it's who I think it is, you will see Roxas again in some form, and I'm sure he'll be glad to see you all as well." With a smile on each of their faces, Merlin waved his hand and sent the kids to sleep, memories wiped of the last couple of hours. Merlin then faced the wise sage, beckoning him to follow the wizard and owl outside the little hideout, "Ansem?"

Ansem then stood up straight and responded, "Lead the way, Merlin" and the two headed into a bright portal conjured by the white wizard, and disappeared.


	4. Chapter 3 - Saving Ven and Roxas

The Radiant Gardens, formerly known as Hollow Bastion, the world used by Maleficent as the base of her operations when she was more directly involved with the Keyblade wielders. Now the central hub for one of the factions of the warriors of light who aim to take down Xehanort. Ienzo is staring at the screen, dissatisfied at his progress.

"We've come a long way toward reconstructing Roxas's heart. But a vessel, without that…" Ienzo continues to ponder and mutter to himself, "Yeah right. Bodies don't just grow on trees, Ienzo."

Beside him is Cid, sitting and intently at work. "I tell ya, kid" Cid grumbled in between puffs of his cigarette, "your teacher did a damn good job at locking this stuff, I haven't busted my crack this hard since Shinra."

Ienzo turned to him with a disgusted look, "I thought I told you to keep your smoking AWAY from this environment!" Cid then stopped his work and faced the young scientist with equal disgust, "and I thought I told YOU where you can shove it! I agreed to help you, but from what I understand, we still don't entirely like you yet!"

Appalled, Ienzo said, "Wha- I'll have you know that I was working in this facility long before you did!"  
Standing up so that he towers over him, Cid replied, "And I'll have YOU know that I've been living on this rock LONG before you set foot in this here building to begin with!"

"Guys, enough, we've got work to do", came a voice from out in the hall. It was Leon, who had taken to be the leader of the Radiant Gardens Restoration committee, and agreed to supervise the return of Ansem's former associates. Standing beside him was the skinny and plucky ninja Yuffie.

"I told you they'd be at it again if we left them for a sec!" the lanky ninja exclaimed. "You'd think ol' Cid would warm up to another techie, but noope, now he's gotta prove who the bigger gearhead is!"

Ignoring her, Leon asked, "Any progress, guys? We've got to come up with something for Sora, after all he's done for us."

Both Ienzo and Cid turned back to the monitor, and both out a frustrated sigh. Ienzo spoke first "Unfortunately no, but even if we did, we'd need a vessel to place this heart in, and since Vexen is on their side again, the chances of procuring a vessel are slim."

"No need to worry about that," said a voice from thin air. This startled all of them, and a light portal materialized in the room. From the portal came Merlin and Archimedes. Then Merlin spoke to Ienzo "Vexen's been dealth with, so he won't be making any more pesky copies to fill out Xehanort's ranks. As for the heart you're looking into, we already have a vessel, the original one it belonged to, we just need to find it."

Everyone looked at Merlin with slight shock, it was Leon who spoke first, "Merlin, is that you?" If it wasn't for Archimedes perched on his shoulder like they've seen him do lately, they wouldn't have been able to register the fact that the vibrant white wizard standing before them was the old and blue-cloaked Merlin they came to know.

Then Merlin continued, "Before anyone says anything else, I have someone else here with me." He moved out of the way, and allowed Ansem to step through the portal, then it closed out of existence.

"Master Ansem!" Ienzo cried. Ansem couldn't help but smile, as this was a warmer reception than the one he dreaded. Then he responded his pupil, "Ah, well met, little Ienzo." From behind Leon and Yuffie, Aeleus and Dilan came running, and stopped dead in their tracks when they saw their old mentor again.

Ienzo was on the verge of tears, but tried to hide them and looked away from Ansem's eyes. "They told me you'd gone mad. That you abandoned us. I was just a boy… but I should have known better! I am truly, deeply sorry!".

Ansem then walked up to his youngest pupil, who now looks just as young as he did when they first met. Placing his hands on Ienzo's little shoulders, Ansem reassured him, "I think what matters is that you recognize the mistake. Peace Ienzo." Ienzo then worked up the courage to look up at his master again, before Ansem continued, "It was I was consumed by hatred – who failed you in my obligations as your mentor. Forgive me." Ienzo smiled as tears continued to run down his face.

Off to the side, Aeleus and Dilan were also in tears of joy to see Ansem again, while Leon and Yuffie try their best to stay calm and let the scene play out.

Then Merlin spoke up, "Well then, Leon, I leave him in your care, alright?" Leon took a second before nodding to Merlin, but then Ienzo interjected, "W-wait, Merlin! Did you say that you already had a vessel for the second heart inside Sora? The 'original vessel' as you put it?"

"Yup" Merlin replied, "so thanks so much for decoding that, now we know for sure where Ventus's heart is." But Ienzo looked concerned. "Hmm, I don't know of any Ventus, but the readings here indicated that the memories contained in this heart, many of them anyway, are that of Roxas. There are some other memories in here too, though we haven't finished decoding them. Honestly, I was surprised how much content was in here, but if these memories belong to someone called Ventus, then that explains one thing, but…" Ienzo trailed off.

Irritated, Merlin persisted, "But?" Ienzo continued, "I can already say now that it'll be difficult to separate the memories of this Ventus, and that of Roxas, considering how intertwined they are. Like Sora, this Ventus may get more memories than he's used to, but unlike Sora, it might be more than he can bear. Does Ventus, by any chance, resemble Sora or Roxas?"

"From what I can tell" Merlin answered, "Ventus and Roxas are identical in appearance. The reason Roxas was assumed to be Sora's nobody was because he's what popped up when Sora lost his heart, and since nobodies looked somewhat like their original forms, the fact that Roxas resembled Sora was just a massive coincidence. The fact is, though, Roxas took the form of Ventus because, well, I guess he had Ventus, and only Ventus's heart, inside him. As for what Sora's actual nobody would look like and sound like, who knows?"

Ienzo, nodding at Merlin's words, then said, "I only fear for how this Ventus will take these new memories, and how it'll affect his personality."

"Let us worry about that" Merlin said. "You guys are done here, where as I have one more stop to make." And with that, Merlin summoned up another light portal, and disappeared. Ansem, now alone, faces his former students, as well as Leon and Yuffie. "We have much to discuss", the wise man said, "but I promise you this, I _will_ atone for my sins. But now, I must venture back into my virtual world, and retrieve Subject X."

Ω

The Mysterious Tower, a world that has managed to avoid the ever-growing threat of the Heartless and the Organization. The central hub for the other faction of light, a small band of Keyblade wielders led by former Keyblade Master Yen Sid, who, together with the equally capable wizard Merlin, has taken the lead against the forces of Master Xehanort.

It is here that Aqua shared her story with Yen Sid, while Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey listen on as she catches everyone up from her point of view.

After a short while, Yen Sid responds, "Hmmm, well, we are of course glad to see you back among us, Master Aqua. It pains me that we were not able to aid you sooner."

But Aqua smiled and shook her head, "Thank you, but don't worry about me. I'm grateful that you took me in and restored me back to good health, but now I must go see to Ventus, he's still all alone where I left him. Once he's safe and sound, only then can we see to Terra."

Sora then spoke up, "Well, I just got a message here on the Gummiphone from Ienzo and the guys back at Radiant Garden. He said they can confirm that I have Ventus's heart as well, so I'll go with you when we wake him up, ok?" Aqua smiled and nodded, and then a voice came from outside the room.

"I'd like to come to", the doors opened as the voice said that, and in came Axel. Behind him was Kairi, and another man as well. With joy, Sora and Riku went to Kairi to greet her, with Sora embracing her in his arms. Kairi hugged him back tightly, before the two let go so that Riku could greet her with a brief hug as well.

"Well look at you" Riku said, "before you know it, you'll be the one saving us". Kairi chuckled, "I hope so, I don't want to be a burden to you guys ever again. From now on, _I_ want to keep _you_ safe." She turned to Sora, and he said, "There's no one else I'd rather have watching my back." Sora and Kairi then gazed longingly into each other's eyes, before the third man who was with her and Axel broke the mood with a clearing of his throat.

"Hm-hmm, now that that's all settled with, I believe the Keyblade maiden here was making the point to go and save another one, and the more we have on our side, the better." Sora now got a chance to get a good look at the guy. He had tanned skin and white, spiky here, though not as spiky as Sora's. His clothes consisted of a sleek armor-like black tunic from his neck all the way to his feet, with markings on the chest and stomach that somewhat resembled a heart symbol. On top of that, the man wore a red cloak that seemed to be two separate pieces of clothing upon further inspection; the top half covered his arms and part of his back, while the bottom half covered the back of his legs. His voice was low and gruff, as if he was battle-hardened, and from the looks of it, Sora could believe he was.

Axel then groaned in frustration at the fact that the man had interrupted their reunion. "Ugh, for God's sake man, learn to read the room before you ruin the moment." Kairi chuckled again and went to Axel to calm him down. "It's ok, Axel, Archer didn't mean anything by it." But Axel snorted, "you're too sweet on him, you know that? If he was as tough on you as he was with me, you wouldn't be so easy on him."

The man, Archer, then spoke up, "Well if you were as committed to this as she was, I wouldn't be up your ass as far as training goes."

Axel replied furiously, "YOU STAY OUT OF MY ASS FROM NOW ON, GOT IT!?" The rest of the group, minus Yen Sid and Archer, laughed at Axel's remark. As the laughter died down, Aqua finally managed to get a good look and Kairi, and registered that Kairi was the little girl that she saw all those years ago. She then walked up to Kairi, and examined the necklace she wore. "Incredible! It _is_ you."

Kairi could only respond confusingly, "Huh?" then Mickey walked up to them and asked, "You know her?" Aqua turned to face him, "When you and I first met in Radiant Garden, the Unversed tried to attack a little girl. Do you remember?" Mickey rattled his memories, and eventually recalled the situation Aqua spoke of with surprise. "Oh gosh!" the King said, "that little girl was Kairi?"

Kairi continued to look dumbfounded as they spoke, then Aqua said with joy, "I guess it must've worked – the spell that I cast on you." Kairi looked sad when she replied, "I'm sorry, those days are hazy for me." Then her mood changed, and she said "But it sounds like I'd have been in trouble without you. So, thank you" she finished with a bow.

Aqua raised her hand in reply, "Please. You were really, very little. Anyone would forget, hazy memory or not. Then Axel was the one who interrupted the reunion with a loud clearing of his throat, but before he could speak, Archer said, "Oh, so YOU can do that?" Everyone else chuckled while Axel briefly turned to Archer, pointing a finger at him that implied to keep silent. Then Axel turned back and faced the group, saying, "Look, this is actually all very touching, but now we have a problem. According to what I've been told, Ven looks just like Roxas, or is it Roxas looks just like Ven?" The group pondered at his statement, then he continued, "Which, now that I realize, I'll have to explain all of this to him, which is in itself a very long story…and apparently everybody else already knows everyone, and this is an insane amount to get memorized!"

It was at this point that Jiminy Cricket decided to jump out of Sora's pocket and onto his head, catching Axel off guard, "Huh? NOW WHO?!" Jiminy then addressed everyone, "Not to worry, folks. To help us out, I've given each of you a Gummiphone. They've got summaries of everything that's happened so far. That way, you can read up, if you'd like. And if anyone has any questions, we can call each other!"

"That's our Jiminy!" Donald said, impressed. "He's always prepared!" agreed Goofy, joyously. "Mmm hmm!" replied Jiminy, pridefully.

Axel then responded, "I'll admit, this will be very useful, but…. What are we gonna do about them? It's likely that Sora has Ven's heart, not Roxas. In the end, Roxas, regardless of what he looks like, is Sora's nobody, but the spare heart inside Sora, that's Ventus. What will happen to Roxas once Ventus comes back? Will all trace of him disappear once Sora and Ventus exist simultaneously?"

Then Archer placed a hand on Axel's shoulder, and said reassuringly, "Don't worry about that, Merlin told us before he released us from the training grounds at the Garden of Avalon that Roxas's memories will likely merge in with Ventus. And since the two look alike, you'll get to see your friend again, anyway." Archer ended with a smirk, which actually cheered Axel up. Archer's expression then changed as he took his hand off of Axel, and said, "If anything, we'll have to monitor the boy when he wakes, up, make sure he's stable, since he'll be juggling two identities up here," when he finished, he pointed his finger to his own head. Then he continued, "The circumstances from which Sora's nobody came about are extremely unique, as the nobody ended up serving as a spare vessel for Ventus's heart. And his treatment at the Organization didn't do the heart any favors. Just keep that in mind when you go to retrieve him, he'll could be in a very delicate state".

Yen Sid agreed with Archer's statement with a grunt, then addressed both Aqua and Axel when he said, "Indeed, are you two prepared for what happens when Ventus wakes up, Aqua? Axel?"

Aqua nodded with confidence, while Axel said, "I have to see him again, I have to be there when he wakes up. After what I did to him, how I lied to him, then blamed him for leaving, despite the fact that I held things from him and drove him away, I just can't wait anymore. I know this'll be weird, since he'll primarily be Ventus, but… I just HAVE to go with them to wake him up, this is the only chance I'll get to say I'm sorry…."

Axel finished with his head downward in shame, then Kairi walked up to him and held his hand, "Don't worry, Axel. He'll remember you, and more importantly, he'll forgive you. Once he learns how helpful you've been lately, he'll understand." Then Sora stepped up and said, "Something tells me… he already does understand. When you and I fought, in fact, whenever I met people that Roxas knew, I'd feel something. So… when Ventus wakes up, he'll be able to tell you that himself!" Sora ended with a smile and a thumbs up.

Axel looked up at them and smiled, "Thanks guys, really…" They smiled back at them. With that, Aqua, Axel, and Sora were heading out. Archer then spoke up, "I'm going with you too. The rest of them will be safe here, but I doubt the coast will be clear once you reveal Ventus's location. With Riku and Mickey backing up Yen Sid, this place will be fortified. The enemy doesn't know about me yet, and I can conceal my presence rather well."

Aqua nodded in agreement, "I'll appreciate any help you can give us, Archer. Sora gave one more look at Kairi and Riku, then Donald and Goofy, and then the group headed out.

Ω

Castle Oblivion, a construct that defies logic, a place that slowly stole Sora's memories the last time he ventured deeper into its halls. Here, amidst a dark environment, the group beams down from the Gummiship, and approaches with caution.

Aqua then spoke up, "Hmm, I said I'd be right back, but I'm not even close. I'm in for an earful."

"Not as big of an earful that I'll get, promise you that" Axel replied.

Then Sora spoke up, "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you guys, regardless. He'll understand, he has to."

Archer grunted "Don't be so sure, Sora. He might be vaguely aware of what's happened while he slept, but it'll be another thing entirely when he wakes up for the first time in a decade, and all those memories rush back in to a mind and body that's been inactive during that time. We don't know how he'll react, so expect the unexpected."

But Sora wouldn't budge, "I get that, but… I have faith in him. We'll be there to help him when he wakes up, and then he'll be happy to see Aqua and Axel again." Archer frowned in irritation, "Kairi mentioned how painfully altruistic you are, but my God, you're worse than me when I was your age."

Sora merely smiled and laughed at the comment, then the group finally approached the gate to the castle. Aqua took a deep breath, then stood still and silent for a few moments. Finally, she summoned her keyblade, pointed it at the Castle, and deactivated the lock with a violent burst of energy and wind, causing the others to stand fast and prevent themselves from being blown away. The Castle and environment then changed shape, with extra rooms bursting from the sides of the castle walls, and the dark and dreary atmosphere gave way to a bright and sunny environment, with mountain ranges and a clear blue sky. The ground they were standing one was revealed to be tall platform, one of many, and the last one that leads into the castle. Axel and Sora took in the atmosphere in surprise, while Archer took the opportunity to scan the environment. Then Aqua, Axel, and Sora walked up the stairs and entered the Castle, oblivious that Archer had already concealed himself elsewhere.

Inside the castle, the three Keyblade wielders look upon a large and brightly lit hallway, with symbols decorated on the floor. Aqua turns to Sora and Axel and asks, "Ready?" The two nod in affirmation, and the trio head down the hall to a fork end, with stairs on both sides. The three pick a side and run up the stairs. They then run down another long hallway before finally entering a large empty room, except at one end where, on a slightly raised surface, a boy sits, peacefully asleep, on a large thrown-like chair.

Aqua lets out a gasp, then runs straight to the boy, with Axel and Sora not far behind her. Aqua finally reaches the chair and reaches out to the boy, "Ven…" she caresses his cheek, but no answer. She tries to hold in tears and holds his head to her own, "I'm sorry it took so long." But still the boy would not respond. Now all three of them were getting nervous, with Aqua especially concerned. She tries harder now to get a response and grabs Ven's shoulders "Ven, wake up. Open your eyes, please!" But still, the body would not respond, and now Aqua didn't care about the tears, and let them rush down her face. Axel and Sora stood helpless, none of them know exactly how to transfer the heart from Sora to Ven, and yet they've come so far to see the two reunite. Aqua continued, "Why? Can't you see heart found its way home?" The three then stood there, hoping to get some form of response, until they got one, but from another person behind them.

"That was a neat trick!" the voice said, and all three of them turned around to see Vanitas walking up to them, this time without the Organization cloak that Sora saw him wear at Monstropolis. Now, he only wore his biosuit, which resembled a dark-red version of the suit Sora saw Riku wear when he was corrupted by Darkness. Vanitas spoke again, "No wonder no one could find him."

Sora spoke up first, "Vanitas!" Both he and Axel summoned their keyblades, while Aqua ran in front of Ven's body as if to shield him, and addressed the dark warrior, "Why are you here?"

Vanitas replied, "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt your touching reunion." Axel interrupted with "Yeah, that's been happening a lot lately." Then Vanitas resumed, "But surely you wouldn't begrudge me a moment with my brother?" Ignoring his question, Sora and Axel charged at Vanitas, who only laughed and phased through the two boys, catching them off guard. They all looked around, until Aqua heard him teleport to the top of the chair were Ven lay asleep. "What?" Aqua said, shocked.

"So Venty Wenty wants to keep sleeping" Vanitas said mockfully, "What am I ever going to do with you?"

"Shut up!" Aqua replied, and summoned her Keyblade and prepared to attack him. She jumped up and lunged at the dark warrior, but he remained in place and casually blocked her Keyblade with his own. While she was still mid-air, Vanitas said boastfully, "You better settle down there, Master!" and with a motion, shoved her back. Aqua did a backflip and landed gracefully on her feet, with Vanitas landing in front of her, his back now towards Ventus.

Sora spoke up, "Aqua, _I'll_ handle him!" Then Axel responded, "Don't be crazy! We'll all handle this guy!" But Aqua shook her head, "No. _I'm_ ending this."

Axel objected again, "Honestly, Aqua, you may be at full power now, but it'd be better if we all ganged up on him!" But Aqua motioned them to stay back, then turned to them, "Sorry, but you've seen me too weak, too often. Now it's my turn to shine." With that, she turned back to Vanitas, and conjured up a massive barrier, separating her and Vanitas from Axel and Sora.

Sora called out to her, "Aqua!" Axel continued to object, "Dammit Aqua, don't do this!" as he banged on the barrier. But she didn't respond to them anymore, she faced Vanitas, as he changed into his battle stance, his sword-arm held back, with the blade pointing towards his enemy, parallel to his free arm, a stance very similar to Riku's…

Aqua charged at Vanitas, who shot out 3 Firaga balls. Aqua cart-wheeled around all of them, and engaged Vanitas directly, who blocked her attack and shot another Firaga ball at her, sending her back. Vanitas then jumped up and vanished, while the three Firaga balls from earlier homed in on Aqua. With a quick activation of Reflega, the fire balls hit her barrier harmlessly. Once her Reflega barrier disappeared, Vanitas rematerialized and jumped back down, intent on cutting down Aqua.

She barely managed to avoid the attack, causing Vanitas to strike the ground instead, and the shockwave from the impact sent her back. But as she let herself be pushed back, she pointed her blade at Vanitas and fired off her own Firaga spell, catching him before he could raise his blade and defend himself.

Then Aqua landed on her feet and jumped back towards Vanitas, and unleashed a flurry of graceful swings on the helpless dark warrior. But on the last swing, Vanitas appeared to phase out of her site, his body falling slowly into the ground. Distracted by this, Vanitas ended up teleporting behind her and, with the same cutting motion last time, landed a direct hit on Aqua before once again landing on the ground, and another shockwave sent her flying back in pain.

"Aqua!" The two boys yelled out from beyond the barrier. Aqua managed to get up, despite the pain, and activated her shot-lock command, only for Vanitas to vanish into the floor and rise again near her with an eruption of Firaga spells in all directions. Aqua only managed to block a few with her blade, then decided to risk it by activating her shot-lock command again, while Vanitas was still airborne. She managed to lock on to him, and fired a barrage of multi-colored energy beams that slithered through the air and homed in on Vanitas, blowing up spectacularly every time one landed on him.

Vanitas tried to stay standing, but it appeared he took a lot of damage from that last attack. Aqua prepared another volley from the shot-lock, while Vanitas prepared another flurry of Firaga balls. "You wish!" Vanitas boasted, implying Aqua will not hit him a second time. The two then shot their respective spells toward each other, with the spells cancelling each other out in the space between them in a spectacular fashion.

Then the two charged at each other again, each trying to get a strike at the other, but only to be blocked by the other, or otherwise missing each other entirely. "Give it up!" Vanitas screamed, but Aqua persisted, until finally the two stopped trying to attack each other and retreated a few steps to give each other distance. Then Vanitas tried to use his teleporting-pounce move again on Aqua, but this time Aqua waited for him. As soon as he appeared above her to strike down, she dodged at the last second and activated her Ghost Drive ability. Axel and Sora looked in on amazement as they saw Aqua move with incredible speed, so much so that she left after-images all around Vanitas every time she struck him from a different angle. After 6-8 strikes, the after-images and Vanitas were engulfed in a powerful explosion.

Aqua landed away from Vanitas, and in the midst of the smoke from the explosion, she heard him grunt, "I'll… let you have this one" falling to one knee as he yielded the battle to her. As Aqua stands triumphantly, Vanitas quickly rises back up, turns around, and unleashes more Firaga spells, this time toward Ventus. While the barrier Aqua erected stops the fire balls, the barrier takes noticeable damage. Vanitas laughs and tries again, but this time Aqua jumps in front of the broken section of the barrier with barely enough time to block the attack, as the fire balls land on her full force.

Vanitas laughs as he approaches the helpless Aqua, now lying on the ground after taking the full force of his last attack. Axel and Sora are barely heard screaming her name in the background, while Vanitas prepares to end her life by raising his keyblade just above her chest. Just as he lowers his blade to pierce Aqua's body, an arrow-like object flies through the broken barrier and pierces Vanitas right in the heart. He lets out a pained grunt as he's pushed back from the force of the stab.

Sora and Axel see Vanitas pushed back and fall to the ground, and as the rest of the barrier starts to crumble, Vanitas grabs hold of the arrow that pierced his heart, and sees that it's actually a long red spear with runic markings. Then he hears a voice talking to him, as well as steps creeping closer to his body. "Gae Bolg, a crimson spear that is said to inflict wounds that will never heal naturally, and even when using magic, the wound will never heal completely." Vanitas then turns his head to see Archer standing next to him, his intense face staring down at Vanitas's damaged helmet. Archer then continued, "when its name is called out, it strikes the target without fail, and will destroy your body from the inside once the heart is pierced. You were foolish to come alone, and now you'll die alone."

Vanitas responded with a gargled laugh, as blood filled his lungs and mouth. "You…got lucky this time." Archer scoffs and steps on Vanitas' helmet with intense force, breaking the helmet entirely, and partially crushing Vanitas's skull. With the rest of the barrier broken down, Sora is able to see the face of Vanitas, and is horrified to see a warped version of himself, staring back at him with yellow eyes and an evil grin, the last expression that face will every make. Sora take a step back, unable to breath, but Axel sees this and grabs Sora, "Hey, kid, snap out of it! Aqua and Ven need our help, come on!" Dazed, Sora tries to respond, "Uh….right."

Then Axel turns around and runs toward Aqua, calling out her name. "Aqua!", and when Sora hears that, his heart thumped with more force than before, and all went white for Sora. Then Sora found himself back in his inner world, and not far from him, another was suspended in the air. It was Ventus, sleeping. Then the sleeping Ven said, "I…. have to wake up…" Sora responded gleefully, "Yes! Tell me what to do!" Ven responded, "The power of waking…"

Sora lamented at this, "I can't…I still don't have it yet…" But Ven reassured him, "You never lost it… it sleeps… until someone needs it. Call to it." Sora replies with conviction, "I _am_ calling to it… with all my heart…" then, while still in the inner world, Sora summons his keyblade, and points it toward Ven's direction. The tip lights up, and the floor of the inner world erupts into light, revealing a keyhole. As the floor is lit up again, Sora notices that it changed from a portrait of himself, to that of Ventus. Sora points his keyblade at the new portrait, and fires another beam of light at the heart of the Ventus portrait.

"Thank you…. For always keeping me safe, Sora…." Said Ven from the portrait. Then a ball of light rose from the portrait, and shot up into the sky, leaving the inner world.

As Sora comes to, he sees Axel beside Aqua, and then notices beyond them at the sleeping boy Is also awake, still in the chair. Archer, Axel, Aqua, and Sora then notice Vanitas's body start to evaporate, as the last traces of Ven's essence join back to him. Sora catches a glimpse of Vanitas's dead face one last time, before it too disappears from site, relieving Sora greatly. Then Axel and Archer help Aqua up, and all four of them head toward Ven, who has slowly risen out of the chair.

Sora addresses Aqua first, "Aqua, are you alright?" Aqua faces him and responds with little pain, "Yes, I'm fine Sora." The newly awakened boy hears Sora's name uttered, and turns to face Sora directly. For a second, he see's Vanitas's face in Sora, but then realizes that this boy is nothing like him. This boy has a kind face, with no trace of malice. This is the boy that saved Ven's life all those years ago. "Huh? You're Sora?" "Yup" Sora replies casually, "Hey Ventus!"

Sora extends his hand to shake Ventus's…. Ven…. Am I still Ven? The boy thinks to himself, feeling not whole... but… fractured, overflowing. "Ven" doesn't sound quite right to him anymore, he's lived another life, with another name, a name that, he admits with some resentment, he identifies better with. After a short and awkward silence, the boy finally speaks up again, "I get it. You're my second chance." Sora appears puzzled, "Huh?" But the boy laughs and extends his own hand to shake Sora's.

Then he speaks again, "Call me Roxas, that's my name now." The others look at him with mild shock. Then Roxas resumed, "Ven…. Ven died a long time ago… he was too weak to keep up with his friends and protect them… But Roxas, as him I can help you guys, and I won't fail again." At his remark, both Aqua and Axel start tearing up, Aqua because she heard her friend say that he's changed, while Axel cries because he hears his own friend's name uttered from someone who looks so painfully familiar to the one he betrayed not that long ago…

The boy calling himself Roxas faces Aqua first, and holds her hand reassuringly, "Don't worry Aqua, you kept your promise. I… well, I hardly felt the time at all" he said with a smile, and Aqua pulled him closer and hugged him tightly. Roxas then hugged her in return, and the two stood there for a few moments, with Sora, Axel, and Archer looking toward them. Aqua then finally said, "Good morning, Ven" before loosening up her hug a bit and placed her hand on his head, petting his hair. Roxas responded, "Good morning, Aqua", and wiped away her tears with his own free hand. Then, after coming to terms with Sora's age from the first time he connecte with him, and the stress on Aqua's face, Roxas states, "You look a little older… how long has it been really?" Aqua hesitates before answering, "10 years, Ven- um, Roxas. It's been 10 years…." But her face lightens up a little again, "You haven't changed at all, like being in the chamber of waking had stopped your aging…"

Then the two released each other from their embrace, and Roxas faced Axel. Neither of them said anything, until finally Axel gave in and said, "Listen, buddy, I'm….I'm so sorry for….for everything. I lied to you, then I drove you away….. and then I got mad at you for leaving, even though it was my fault. And then…..I messed up your new life in Twilight Town. I don't expect you to forgive me, I just want you to know….. I… I-" but Roxas interrupted his sob-riddled apology and rushed in and hugged him. Catching him by surprise, Axel falls to his knees, dragging Roxas down with him, and hugs him back. The two boys hold each other while crying. This causes Aqua to tear up again, while Sora looks on smiling and lets out a grunt of approval, and Archer observes with a neutral expression.

Then Roxas finally spoke, "Stop apologizing, I got it memorized". Axel chuckles at this, then responds "Alright, then, just making sure you got the message". The two then laugh again, then release each other and stand up. Roxas, wiping is tears, then gives a single look at Aqua, Sora, and Axel, before noticing Archer.

After a silent and awkward look, Archer decides to answer the boy's confused face by offering his hand, "We haven't met, I'm Archer". Roxas then looks down at his hand, and accepts the invitation by offering his own, and the two shake. "Nice to meet you, Archer, I'm… Roxas". Archer noticed the slight hesitation when he said his name, then the two let go. "Yes, it appears you are" Archer observed, 'how are you feeling?"

Roxas looks at all four of them now, as they share a look of concern. Then Roxas answers the question, "I…. it's weird. I was asleep, but… I dreamed. At least that's what it feels like. But the dreams, they… also feel like memories." Sora then asks, "What do you remember?"

Roxas thinks hard before answering, "I….. I remember fighting Vanitas, before going to sleep. I remember the Organization… I… I think I remember…." For a second, Roxas sees what appears to be Xion's smiling face flash in his head, before it disappears. Then he resumes, "Hmm, I'm starting to remember quite a lot. Eraqus, Terra, Master Xehanort, Xemnas, Hayner, Pence, Olette….. oh God…." Aqua, Axel, and Sora rush to comfort Roxas as he starts to break down again. But he composes himself and reassures them, " *sniff* It's ok, it's just, a little overwhelming…."

Archer responds, "Then let us all return to the Tower. There, you can rest, and heal up. After that…. We'll have a lot to talk about now that enough of us are gathered." The others nod in agreement to his suggestion, and Roxas nods too. The group, first 4, now 5, depart from Castle Oblivion, now the Land of Departure.


	5. Chapter 4 - Altered History

Back at the Mysterious Tower: Sora, Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Aqua, Axel, Archer, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Merlin, Archimedes, Jiminy Cricket, and Yen Sid have gathered. Roxas had just finished recapping the events from his perspective, after having been greeted by those who weren't present when he was revived.

Yen Sid spoke first, "We can all agree that it is good to have you back, young one, it gladdens me so to see that another one of ours has returned to the light." Yen Sid then faces Sora, "And I'm glad to see that you seemed to have finally achieved the power of waking, Sora, you are one step closer to becoming a Keyblade Master."

Sora chuckles and blushes, but points out, "Heh, so I guess even that doesn't make me a Keyblade Master, huh?" Riku playfully nudges him, then Yen Sid adds, "Hmm, for now, it appears that you activated the power unintentionally. True, you successfully managed to revive Roxas, formerly known as Ventus, but you now have to keep that power under conscious control, or you will lose both yourself and the one you're waking, perhaps forever." Sora then loses his smile, and sees the need to get serious. Yen Sid resumes, "the power of waking is not one to be used lightly, or recklessly. When one uses it, he risks himself being lost to the void, as it takes great concentration and vast energy to enter another's being and reconstitute it to full functionality. And excessive use of the power of waking could drain one's life force entirely, with little possibility of coming back."

Sora looks at Roxas, then at Riku and Kairi, before looking back to Yen Sid, who then adds, "Even for your loved ones, you should never attempt to abuse this power, regardless if you've mastered it or not. It is a powerful and valuable ability, one that proves your Mastery over the Keyblade, as well as the power provided by Kingdom Hearts, but as with all power, too much use can and **will** destroy you."

The room goes silent for a moment as everyone acknowledges Yen Sid's warning with sincerity. Then Merlin breaks the silence with his announcement, "Well, to move on to other news, I feel I must point out something that Archimedes and I discovered while I supervised Kairi and Lea- excuse me, Axel's training. It concerns the Keyblade War, and whether we know the truth of the events surrounding it or not."

Everyone then faces him with genuine curiosity, as well as slight concern. Archer responds first, "I'm not sure how this will help us in the short term, though?" Roxas decided to respond to Archer's issue, "Because that's supposedly the reason why my former master Xehanort started this whole mess to begin with." Archer acknowledges that, then adds "Ok, but how will us knowing the truth help us defeat him now? I understand not to repeat the mistakes of the past, but unless there's a battle strategy or secret weapon, I fail to understand why we can't go over this until after we've defeated him?"

The attention then diverts back to Merlin, "Well, after what I've found out, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that Xehanort went crazy with his whole plan because he himself tried to find out the truth, which then caused him to go on this mission to supposedly make sure that it doesn't happen again." This is what really caught everyone's attention, and Archer was no longer questioning the wizard's logic.

"What do we know about the Keyblade War?" Merlin continued, "You students wouldn't know anything, understandably, as Roxas, formerly Ventus, never achieved Master status, while the newer Masters – Aqua and Riku – never got the chance to access certain entitled knowledge granted to those with the "Master" status. Only the older Masters know anything about the war, and as it turns out, it's really not all that much. I looked into the various reports, including the Secret Reports, and there's this one man, the "Master of Masters", who mentored 5 lesser masters, called the "Foretellers". There's the vague notion that one of the foretellers was a traitor, and how the Master of Masters planned it so the different factions, each lead by one of the Foretellers, competed against each other instead of working together.

This was all because the Master of Masters claimed that a Book of Prophecies said it would happen, and rather than using this information to prevent the war, the Master's excuse was to let the war play out, and then focus on how to recover after the war. Basically, the Keyblade War, according to the records, is because of some self-fulfilling prophecy that everyone was expected to go along with. Meanwhile, the Master then sent a sixth apprentice to travel the worlds while carrying his "Gazing Eye" Keyblade as well as a black box, to watch over the fractured worlds and see how they recover after the War. Then the Master and the Sixth apprentice were never seen or mentioned again in the reports after this. But that's not even the weirdest part.

I cross-referenced the timeline that the war supposedly took place in, with historical records of other worlds, and they just don't add up. According to the records of the Keyblade Masters, the Keyblade War took place mere couple of centuries ago, give or take a few decades, and then the One World that existed at the time was then split into many worlds, the ones you've all seen by now. Yet in some of these worlds, the ones I looked at so far anyway, their historical records indicate they've been separated for several thousand years, if not longer. It wasn't until I went at least that far back in their historical records until I found that they all shared a common theme: when their world broke off from a single, larger world. Again, that was thousands and thousands of years into their past, when I had to look at the very first recordings ever found in each of those worlds."

Once he reached that point, he paused to look at everyone in the room, and the air was filled with tension and curiosity. Merlin then addressed Yen Sid, and asked "Why is that? Why hasn't anyone done any further research on this? I'm not even a Keyblade Wielder, and yet I was able to piece this together. You'd think the other masters, who had likely travelled across many worlds as well, would've picked up on this. They should've seen that certain worlds alone contain architecture and records that predate the Keyblade War, even though technically those records should've started after the war? And shouldn't they have questioned and investigated the circular logic provided by this Master of Masters and his Book of Prophecies?"

Everyone else also turn to Yen Sid, who attempts to answer, "Because…. Because there is no more need… to look into the matter further. You explained it yourself perfectly, as for the dating of the other worlds, they simply must be mistaken…"

Merlin raised an eye-brow "All of them? All the ones that _have_ records anyway?" Yen Sid then looks away, distraught, then repeats his previous statement, "There is no more need to look into the matter further. You explained it yourself perfectly, and the dating on the other worlds must simply be mistaken". The others look at him in shock and suspicion, while Merlin smiles as if he's caught someone in the act of theft.

Yen Sid then changes expression, as if he just woke up from a trance, and Merlin said, "As I thought, it appears as if the older Keyblade Masters are under a spell, or dare I say, a curse, to prevent anyone from looking into the matter further. And any evidence to the contrary is shrugged off and omitted from their own records."

Yen Sid doesn't attempt to disprove Merlin, but asks with mild difficulty, "How can this be? Who would be powerful enough to place such a curse on Master-level Keyblade Wielders, let alone ensure that future generations fall prey to this curse?"

Merlin responded, "I suspect it has to do with the Gazing Eye Keyblade that supposedly belonged to this Master of Masters. The records stated that he placed one of his eyes in the Keyblade, before giving it to the sixth apprentice and disappearing. I don't know what's with the black box, if there even is one, but the Keyblade might be tied to this curse. Master Xehanort has it now, correct? And he's amassing a New Organization 13 and plans to do God-knows-what with Kingdom Hearts once he summons it."

Roxas than responds to Merlin's theory, "There is a black box, at least, that's what Master Xehanort told me back when I was his student." Everyone then focuses on Roxas, and Merlin asks, "Are you sure? You sure it's the same black box I mentioned?"

Roxas replied, "Absolutely. When he wasn't training me and berating me about not being as good as his previous apprentice, he would talk about things similar to what you said, about how odd this Master of Masters was and something about a black box being taken across worlds after the Keyblade War, and how it might be tied to the cause of the war."

Yen Sid then interrupted Roxas's explanation, "Did you say Xehanort's previous apprentice?" Roxas looked at him as if he asked a dumb question, "Yeah, I did. He'd tell me how his first apprentice was everything he'd ever dream of in a student, the perfect partner. And how he went mad after the apprentice left him, and how since then he'd hoped to find someone of equal caliber, but never did, and always reminded me that I was never as good as his star pupil." Roxas ended that with noticeable resentment and a hint of jealousy in his voice. "I wouldn't be surprised if the apprentice jumped ship when he found out what Xehanort was up to. Since he wanted me to help him make the X-blade, and since he got interested in Terra and took over his body, I'll bet the apprentice caught wind of this and left before he was used in a way like Terra or I was. Master Xehanort even told me how he tried to beat the apprentice into submission, force him to stay, but the apprentice beat Xehanort in combat, left him, and never looked back." Roxas ended this time with a smirk of satisfaction.

Merlin then faced Yen Sid, "Did you know Xehanort had another apprentice before Ven?" Yen Sid replied, "No, of course not. That man was not one to make many friends, but not even Eraqus mentioned anything about Xehanort having another apprentice. Then again, Eraqus wasn't aware of Vanitas either."

After a moment of silence, Merlin declared, "Well, now that we're more aware of the questionable validity of the history of the Keyblade War, we can at least be weary of Xehanort's motivations behind his current plan to obtain Kingdom Hearts. Whatever he found, it must be what drove him nuts, but for now, we'll put this on hold and deal with Xehanort. After that, I'll look into this more, but you all just worry about preparing for the battle to come. As the Seven lights are now gathered, it's almost time to battle with the 13 warriors of darkness."

Then Archer added, "And I'll continue to monitor Maleficent's movements. If there really is a black box, she'll find it, and then I'll deal with it". Merlin and the rest nodded in agreement, then Yen Sid formally ended the meeting.

Ω

As the others left the Tower, Merlin and Yen Sid gathered by the window behind his desk, and spoke quietly.

"Do you really think all of those reports could be completely falsified?" Yen Sid asked, with a tired-ness in his voice.

"Not entirely," Merlin answered, "There could be some truth to them. But then, the most dangerous lies are half-truths. But clearly, whoever took the time to tamper with the older Reports didn't take into account other historical records."

"Or couldn't", Yen Sid interrupted. Merlin pondered this, "You think the tamperer did not foresee the splitting of the worlds? Or do you think he was interrupted before he could complete his fabrication of history?"

"Both" Yen Sid replied slowly, after a slight pause, and this was all noticed by Merlin, who began to show concern for his peer. "What's wrong, Yen Sid? The others are gone now, so fess up."

"Even before I found out recently that I could be compromised by whatever force is fabricating the history we've come to know, I've known for a little while now that my strength has been waning." Merlin looked at him in shock. Yen Sid briefly stared at him and continued, "Hmm, I didn't expect you to be surprised, but I suppose I should thank you for not prying into my private affairs. This was expected, old friend. None of us live forever."

"But even then-" Merlin tried to speak, but Yen Sid interrupted him, "This was a consequence I accepted the day I forfeited the ways of the Keyblade. It was either this, or to lose my memories of my time studying their ways. And even then, I extended my life beyond my shortened lifespan enough to be of aid to the Keyblade wielders of the current generation. And now, I offer my position to you, Merlin."

Merlin's eyes widened, then he took a step back. "Yen Sid, I…. I don't know what to say…" The former keyblade master smiled and responded, "This should have happened a long time ago, but I suppose this was for the best. Whatever curse plagues us older masters, it does not seem to affect Aqua, Mickey, and Riku. I hereby choose you as my next successor in the ways of the Keyblade. With this power and knowledge, may you be armed with all that you need to defeat the forces of darkness, and ensure the domination of the light."

And with that, Yen Sid had begun the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony with Merlin, he summons his Keyblade, Ultima, and holding it by the blade, lends the handle to Merlin, who slowly reaches out to grab it. Once he grabbed the handle, Yen Sid continued, "and for your services to the Keyblade wielders, and to all the warriors of light, as well as your past exploits, and your mastery of the mystic arts as well as the ways of the sword, I hereby grant you the rank of Master." The room lit up somewhat, and a vibration is both heard and felt throughout the room, and then, all dimmed down, and the Ceremony was done.

"Congratulations, Master Merlin" Yen Sid said with a nod, "may you use your new status to gain unrestricted access to the Land of Departure, and obtain the knowledge you seek." Merlin displayed an awkward smile, and uttered only two words, "Oy vey…."

Ω

Outside the base of the Tower, the group prepared to go their separate ways, to each enjoy the calm before the storm.

Mickey decided to talk first, "Welp, we've got our seven guardians!"

Sora replied, "Yeah, but… I do wish that Terra and Namine could be here with us too."

"Since when do you mope, Sora?" Riku said with a friendly mocking tone, "Come on. Terra's gotta be with the Organization, which means we'll have a chance to save him."

Aqua then follows up on Riku's statement, "Leave it to Roxas and I. We'll bring him home."

Roxas follows up as well, "Yeah, I made Terra a promise. I said I'd be there for him when he needs me."

Then Archer spoke up, "As for Namine, don't forget, she's already safe, inside Kairi" he then pointed to Kairi's heart, causing her to place both hands on it. Archer continued, "I get that you're worried about her, considering that she lived her own life for a while, but she **is** still a nobody, and Kairi's nobody at that. You did your job, what you could for her, so no need to worry about her anymore. Whatever Kairi feels, sees, and lives through, Namine will experience it all too."

"Exactly Sora," said Kairi, finally, "Namine is safe here with me. And she always will be, trust me."

"And Donald and I are no keyblade wielders, but we'll always by right there to help keep ya ready!" Said Goofy, still with his optimistic and fatherly tone, "we've got your back, not just now, but always."

Then Donald walked up to Sora, "Three half-pints make a whole!" Sora smiled, embarrassed, "That again?" Then the group laughed. Then Archer spoke, "You could say we've got nine guardians, if you count Donald and Goofy." Kairi quickly responded to his observation, "Ten, if we include you too." Archer turned to her with a subtly shocked expression, then let out a small smile. Kairi continued, "You've been a big help to me and Axel, so I won't let you count yourself out."

Archer then resumed, facing Sora again, "And given time, I know others will joins us." "Yeah!" Sora replied.

Then Archer continued, "Master Merlin and Yen Sid gave us a break for the rest of the day. All of you should use this time to finish up any loose ends you have before we all head out to the Keyblade Graveyard, and end this once and for all." The rest of them all agreed with a nod and a grunt, then they split up.


	6. Chapter 5 - The Calm before the Storm

At Traverse Town, Axel, Roxas, and Aqua sit at the top of the clock tower, each enjoying a sea-salt ice cream that Axel bought.

"Mmmm, any of this ringing a bell?" Axel asked, before taking another bite out of the ice cream.

Roxas sat to his right, and Aqua to Roxas's right. He slowly ate his ice cream while pondering Axel's question, "It's coming back. Nothing specific yet, but I feel…. nostalgic." Roxas then touched the back of his head, feeling a slight unpleasant sensation.

"So this is what you did while you were dreaming another life?" Aqua asked, partly sarcastic, while enjoying her own ice cream. "It's nice, I'm so glad to see you had good experiences, and not just bad ones. And I see you've changed out of your apprentice clothing."

Roxas faced her and smiled, "This is what I wore when I first became Roxas, well, outside of the Organization anyway. As for my other life, Axel watched out for me a lot of the time." Axel rubbed the back of his head and forced a chuckle, "He-he, I wish that was all I did." But Roxas persisted, and faced Axel, "You watched for me more than Xehanort ever did, and as much as Aqua and Terra did. That's what matters to me most." Then Roxas gave Axel a friendly nudge, which almost caused Axel to drop his ice cream. The trio then laughed, then Axel said, "Well, I have another surprised for you, buddy." Roxas gave a look of confusion.

Having descended the clock tower into the district, Axel then introduced Hayner, Pence, and Olette to Roxas. As they greeted him, Roxas couldn't help but get a little emotional, and, without telling anyone, began to feel certain dull pain at the back of his mind. Hayner then spoke first, "We've heard a lot about you, dude! At this point, we're practically already friends!" Roxas tried to speak without sobbing, "Already friends?"

"You know it!" Pence responded. Then Olette walked up to Roxas and pulled out the picture of them, "See? Here's the proof. We kept it, and never forgot you." Roxas held the picture, smiling, and a single tear fell onto it. Then Hayner suggested, "You know what though? This picture's a little old, and the only one we have. Why don't we take another one? Right here, right now!"

They all looked at him with glee, and started to set up their group photo. Aqua was holding the camera, with Axel standing beside him. As the four kids got ready to get their photo taken, Roxas said to Axel, "You too, buddy." "Huh?" Axel gasped. Hayner agreed, "Oh yeah! From what I was told, you played a big role in keeping Roxas safe and bringing him back! And you've been in this town before, well, the fake one anyway." Roxas, still feeling the pain, which has now gotten worse, decided to finish Hayner's thought with a strain, "So get over here, or you'll miss the shot."

Axel smiled at Roxas, then jogged to the group, standing behind all four of them. When they were ready, Aqua said, "Say cheese!" "CHEESE!" the five friends yelled out. And the updated picture was taken.

As the others looked over the photo with pride and joy, Roxas stood back, now rubbing the back of his head. The pain had become unbearable, and would've collapsed had Axel not turned around and noticed Roxas on his own. "Hey buddy, you're missing all the fun! What do you think? Do I look fat in this picture?" Roxas tried to laugh, but the pain got so intense that he fell to his knees, screaming in pain.

The others all turned around and rushed to Roxas, trying to comfort him and hold him. "What's wrong, Ven?" Aqua asked with fear in her voice. "Roxas, buddy, what's wrong?" Axel asked afterwards. In Roxas's mind, images of his life, in the fake Traverse Town, in the Organization, and his time as Ventus, all flooded his vision. All the emotions trying to blend together and reach the surface of his heart upon experiencing familial joy for the first time in a long time.

Finally, Roxas stood up, with Aqua and Axel on either side of him, supporting him as he rose. He then looked at everyone, seeing the concern in their eyes, and he couldn't help but feel touched. But, the pain still persisted, though it had subsided enough for him to bear with for now. "Sorry, guys. I guess this was all a little overwhelming. I didn't expect to….. to feel this happy ever again, to be with all of you, again."

They all forced a smile, then Hayner walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Next time, we'll take it slow, alright? It was Axel's idea, and mine too, so… my bad if it seemed we all jumped on you."

"Not a problem at all, I was just unprepared," Roxas said with a strained smile, "I will be, next time."

As Aqua, Roxas, and Axel prepared to turn in for the night, before heading out to battle the following day, Axel took this chance to ask Roxas, while Aqua was still outside the hideout, "Hey man, are you sure you're ok?"

Roxas looked at him, and tried to respond as kindly as possible, without showing how weak he felt, "I can't stay here much longer, Axel. And I doubt I'll feel better at the Land of Departure. My memories… it feels like they're fighting for dominance. 'Roxas' feels happy here, but 'Ventus' wants to return to his home, and the two will always fight if one is happier than the other. I'll have to tell Aqua this soon, I guess, but… after this, after we're done fighting, I have to go somewhere else, anywhere else. Starting a new life, separate from the ones Ventus and Roxas lived, I feel will be the only way I can stop them fighting, and stop this pain."

When he finished, Axel spoke up, one the verge of tears. "This is all my fault." Roxas turned to him and tried to say otherwise, but Axel continued, "If I hadn't treated you the way I did, no, if I wasn't selfish enough to hope that the Roxas part of you still lived in there somewhere, and instead suggested a way for Ven to live on his own, maybe, then maybe" then, as his own sobs began to interrupt his confession, Roxas spoke up, "There was nothing you could've done, Axel. This was… inevitable. After the weird circumstances that Sora and I went through, there was always gonna be a risk if you decided to bring me back. Besides, you're the only one I met in both of my lives, so, if anything, you're the one constant in my life that's helping me stick together in some way."

This cheered Axel up, and he began to dry his tears. "Well, if that's really what you think-" "I'm serious" Roxas interrupted, reassuringly, then Axel resumed, "then, I guess it does make me feel better, knowing that." As the two nudged each other in a friendly fashion, Aqua stood outside the hideout, having heard everything. Having come to the conclusion that she may not be able to spend as much time with the boy who looked so much like Ven as much as she hoped, she decided to let all her tears come out while she was outside, before entering.

Ω

On Destiny Islands, Riku sat on the beach by himself, while Sora and Kairi sat on the palm tree like they used to when they were younger.

As Riku stared at the sunset, he heard a voice from within, "How long have you known that I was with you?" Riku smiled and turned to faced his right, "You _did_ save me." His darkness had manifested beside him, wearing the attire from when he completely gave into Ansem. Riku continued, "I think you came along for a reason."

The younger Dark Riku pondered before responding, "I didn't make much of myself as a replica. I was a failure, and after you and Sora moved on, my body fell to ruin and the darkness took my broken mind. I was all ready to give up and let it happen, and then you showed up."

Riku chuckled, "You took that as a sign?" Dark Riku chuckled as well, "Hmph, maybe. I'd rather face my end with you than in darkness."

Riku displayed mild shock, "That's…. what you want?" Dark Riku nodded, "Yeah, I'm not done just yet" he said with a smile. Then Riku said, "Well, in that case, fight alongside me, from now on." Dark Riku looked at him, puzzled. Riku affirmed, "You're a part of me, whether you brought me trouble or not. And I cannot just ignore you, or I'd be denying a part of myself. I am a warrior of light, but, I was also a warrior of darkness. Now, maybe I can be both."

The two looked at each other in agreement, then looked towards the sunset, and then Riku sat alone again.

Without realizing, Sora and Kairi had taken a moment to look upon their solitary friend. "Hmmm, hey, why's Riku all alone?" asked Sora with mild frustration and confusion. "He said he needed time to himself" Kairi answered calmly, "Let's let him be." She then turned to face Sora, with longing in her eyes. "I think it's been too long since I last got to be alone with you."

Sora then quickly turned his eyes to her, and he met her longing gaze. Her face, Sora thought, was she always this beautiful? I've seen it many times, and imagined it many times whenever we were apart, but…. here, in the sun set, she looks more beautiful then ever.

As if sensing what he was thinking, Kairi let out a soft laugh and said, "I can't tell you how much I missed you, Sora. All those times we kept getting separated, first when our home was destroyed, then again after we talked in Traverse Town, then after you defeated Ansem. And then, after Xemnas, it seemed we still couldn't catch a break, since we all had to train and fight to get to where we're at now. Things kept happening that took you away from me, because I wasn't strong enough to fight along side you." She then placed her hand on his, and he gently squeezed it. "Now, I can only hope I'm strong enough to keep up with you, for the rest of our lives."

Sora didn't realize that he stopped breathing, then, after a quick gulp of air, he replied, "All those times you mentioned, I can't tell you how much I missed you too, and how angry I was every time we had to split up again. And it seemed that we were never really able to be alone for us to talk like this." Having said that, Sora admitted to himself that he was now a little grateful that Riku decided to sit alone, giving these two a moment to share privately. Then Sora continued, "I don't ever want to be apart from you again, Kairi, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're always by my side from now on."

Kairi breathed in and smiled, absorbing everything Sora said, and savoring every moment the two had together, for now. She then handed Sora one of the paopu fruit, a fruit that young kids living in the islands believed would intertwine their destinies if they both ate from the same fruit. Now, finally, these two could live out what they had drawn on a wall in a cave. "Here", Kairi said softly. Sora looked down at the fruit, then again at Kairi. She was ready to share his life with him, he could see that on her face, on her smile, in her eyes.

"Tomorrow's fight will be our toughest yet" she said, her expression changing to one more serious. "Like you said, I want to be a part of your life, no matter what. And I won't let tomorrow change that."

Sora slowly reached out for the fruit, and, as the two now held it in their hands, they slowly leaned in, not taking their eyes of each other, until they were close enough to feel each other's lips. They closed their eyes, and shared their first kiss in the sunset.

The moment seemed to last for an eternity, as Sora had felt Kairi in a way he had never felt her before. As the two took a quick gasp of air before touching each other's lips again, Sora savored how Kairi tasted to him, how soft and warm she felt on his face, as they breathed on each other. This was the closest they had ever been with each other, at least, until later that night.

As the evening descended on them, Sora and Kairi, having eaten the fruit, walked up to Riku, who was standing by the boats they took to reach the island. They've could have used any other more convenient means to get to their island, but the boats felt right for them.

"Ready to head back? I realized we still haven't said hi to Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie yet."

Kairi grabbed onto Sora's hand before responding, "We'll meet you back there in a bit." Sora looked puzzled, but Riku looked at her, and she at him, and he understood. "Hmph, alright then. See you tonight."

Once Riku was enough of a distance away, with Sora and Kairi waving at him as he rowed away, Kairi, still holding Sora's hand, led him to the entrance of the secret cave. When they reached the entrance, she knelt down slowly, and lightly pulled down Sora with her, until the two were kneeling together, their faces inches from each other. Kairi leaned in just a little closer towards Sora, then whispered, "Follow me".

As Kairi leaned back and prepared to crawl through the hole, Sora's face was red and in a daze. After the two had crawled through the hole and into the cave, the two held hands again, and Kairi led Sora all the way into the cave, until they were in the open space where the drawings covered the walls, and the mysterious wooden door was in their view. Kairi took Sora further into the cave until the drawing of the two sharing the fruit was right next to them. Now, with his back to the wall, Sora faced Kairi, just as he did on the drawing on the rock.

Kairi then proceeded to take off Sora's jacket, which he helped by placing his arms in a manner that made it easier for her. Once the jacket was on the floor, Sora lightly brought her in and kissed her more passionately then he did minutes earlier. Kairi let him take her, and she responded with soft but passionate kisses of her own. Sora held her face in his hands as they kissed, while Kairi placed her hands on his chest. The two held the moment a little longer before they decided to stop and resume undressing each other.

Kairi then placed her fingers up the bottom of Sora's shirt, and, after a moment of the two looking at each other, she lifted his shirt up. Sora raised his arms to enable her to pull the shirt off the rest of the way. With Sora's top half exposed, Kairi could see how much he'd grown, how all the fighting and training had turned him into a fit young man. Dropping the shirt, her hand slowly went to his chest. When her land landed, Sora took a quick breath as he felt her on him. She rubbed her hand lightly across his chest, feeling his pecs now that they were more pronounced. Her hand then slid in an S-like fashion down to his stomach, were he had developed a faint six-pack.

Then, her hand moved down to Sora's pants, and after the two shared another look, their breathing having intensified, she loosened his pants, and slowly pulled them down, along with his briefs. To finalize it, Sora then took off his shoes by using his feet to kick them off, then lightly pushed the remainder of his clothes aside. Sora was now in his most vulnerable state before Kairi, with the rest of his body now exposed, and further supporting how much he had gotten fit from fighting and training.

Then Sora reached for the zipper on Kairi's clothes, and pulled it down until it was as low as it could go. Kairi raised her shoulders to allow Sora to pull down the dress-like shirt she acquired from her training. With it pulled down all the way, all that remained was the modest coverings for her chest and privates, and the necklace she's always seen wearing. Sora now got a chance to see what a beautiful and fit young woman Kairi had become. Her clothes did not do her justice to the balance of her muscle and her curves, she looked to be a woman in her physical prime, a body most women would dream of having, and most men would kill to see.

Kairi then un-fastened her bra, and let it drop to the ground. She then let Sora take a long moment to admire her bear chest, while trying to control her breathing. Finally, she proceeded to take off her underwear, and, after letting it slide down her thighs, her knees, and to her feet, she lightly brushed it aside, and the two were now as bear as the day they were born.

After a moment, the two then leaned in quickly, embracing each other tightly. Their kisses were harder now, the two were done being soft and patient. Sora held Kairi up as he hugged her, then, still kissing her, slowly and carefully sat on the ground, on the pile of clothes made from their undress, so as to have a soft ground while he had her on top of him. Then Sora decided to lay on the ground, with Kairi on top of him, and there was only one last thing to do.

"Are you sure?" Sora asked, breathing heavily. "Yes, I'm ready," Kairi whispered. After she moved slightly, the two let out a somewhat loud gasp, as the two finally became one for the first time. As the two breathed heavily, their faces flushed red, Kairi leaned down towards Sora, and with another kiss, the two made love.

Ω

In the Country of the Musketeers, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy sat in a circular motion in the training yard. A fire was lit in between the three of them, and they appeared to have changed into their musketeer garbs. Each of them was holding their swords, with a marshmallow hanging at the tip, held over the fire.

Goofy spoke first, "Are you sure you don't want to spend time with the Queen, Mickey? Tomorrow will sure be tough."

Mickey waited a second before responding, "These past couple of years, I got more opportunities to see Minnie than any of those kids ever did as far as visiting their own homes. Every time I see Minnie, I dread having to leave her again. I'm afraid if I go see her now….. I wouldn't want to leave."

Both Donald and Goofy let out a sad groan. Mickey let out a chuckle, then spoke, "He-he, sorry fellas, I just realized that I still sounded selfish. I wasn't thinking about Daisy, or Max."

"Aww, no harm done, Mickey," said Donald. "I doubt Daisy would have let me go, even if I somehow wanted to!" The three laughed.

"And the next time Max sees me," Goofy said, "I want him to see a hero. I've helped Sora many times, but after this, hopefully, we'll be done, and I get to tell little Maxy that I helped save the universe, a-hyuck!"

Then Jiminy popped out from somewhere behind Goofy, with his own little marshmallow. "And I get to go back and see little Pinocchio, he's a real boy now, did you know that? Has been for some time now. He's gonna be starting new type of school now, I think in some worlds they call it…. High-school?"

The three then got silent, each reminiscing of their homes and their personal lives, then Mickey held up his sword and proclaimed, "All for one…" and Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy joined in to finish the chant, "and one for all!"

Ω

Fuyuki City. No matter which version it is, across the infinite alternate worlds, this city always sees tragedy and despair, after a certain Holy Grail War changed the landscape. The city is a ghost town now, and stuck in a seemingly endless winter.

Archer sits alone in the backyard, on the porch where he and his father would sit every night before going to bed, and on the last night the two spent together, Archer would tell his father, Kiritsugu, that he would take over for him as a hero of justice. Despite his father telling Archer that the path of a hero was fruitless, endless, and full of pain and misery, the once youthful Archer would reassure his weary father that he wouldn't give up, and finish the dream that Kiritsugu was unable to do.

Archer had a picture of his father, and the picture of a young girl, in his hands. He looked up at the night sky, the moon was exposed in one of its rare occasions these days. Then he took a deep breath, and looked down at the pictures.

"Hey dad, hey sis. Just thought I'd let you know I'm doing ok. Now that I've been summoned here by Merlin, and he let us all take the rest of the day off, I thought I'd take the chance to visit our old house. The house that dad took me in when he adopted me. The house we took you in when we adopted you, Miyu." At uttering her name, Archer looked at the picture of the girl, who had black hair, and a pig-tail on the right side of her head. She wore a kimono, something Kiritsugu liked to wear in his retired days, when he was no longer going on missions. Then Archer looked at the other picture, the one of his father. In it, he wore his trademark black trenchcoat, over his other "business" clothes which were also dark in color. This was one of the few times he looked happy in this attire, despite usually showing a serious face when he wore it.

Despite having learned that he was a reputable mage killer, calculating and ruthless, Kiritsugu was kind and loving to his two adopted children. He taught Archer as much as he could in the magic arts, but not the magic he used when he was a killer. Instead, to help Archer be the hero he wanted to be, to help and strengthen himself as well as others, Kiritsugu had begun teaching him projection magic, which, once Archer was forced to perfect it on his own, would be invaluable to him for the rest of his life, and the rest of his existence as a variation of a heroic spirit.

"Did you know I made some new friends lately? Yeah, I trained with a few of them when I was first summoned, and then, after listening to their stories of those who were important to them, I got to meet those people too. They're a good group, strong, and happy. Are you happy, Miyu? Back in the other world you were sent to after I saved you? Are your friends taking good care of you? I hope so, they seemed nice when they came here, seemed trustworthy. If only you saw how far we'd come, father, how far I've come, and how happy Miyu is now."

Archer then takes one last look at the moon, before deciding to leave the remains of his home. "Next time I come back, I may actually be close to being a hero of justice." And with that, he disappeared, leaving the two photos where he sat, gathering snow.

Ω

Merlin was sitting outside the Bistro again, enjoying a plate of Ratatouille. Across from him, Archimedes stood, reading over the Secret Reports, and turning the pages with his talons.

Ω

Back at the Mysterious Tower, Yed Sid stood alone, gazing at the stars outside his window. He sensed a new presence in the room, but he did not move. The figure moved closer to him, walking casually, but making little sound.

When the figure stopped moving, Yen Sid spoke, "I knew death would come for me even sooner than I anticipated, once it had been revealed that we were being lied to. That our records have blinded us to the history of our forebears. But to send someone to try and claim me." Yen Sid then turned around to face the figure. As expected of an assassin, the man wore a mask to cover his mouth, and hood to cover the rest of his face, all but his eyes, which glowed in the darkness. The hood was red, which seemed to trail off of the assassin like a scarf, or a short cape. Underneath, he wore sleek black clothing, and only one piece of shoulder-armor on his left side. Another red garb partially covered his legs.

Then Yen Sid addressed the assassin while facing him, "Hmmm, it seems Merlin is not the only one who summoned a guardian of the Counter Force. You may not be affiliated with the one who fabricated the history after all, unless… there is a reason no one must know the truth? Is the truth so perilous that all who seek it must die?"

After a moment, the assassin responded in a low and stern voice, "If the box is to be revealed, then all the Masters in the old order must fall. Once no one from the old world is left to spread its lies, only then will it be revealed in truth."

Yen Sid raised an eyebrow, then sighed, "Aaahh, so is there a third party that wishes to learn the secrets of the past? Perhaps the one that mentioned the black box to Maleficent? Or, is the original party finished with the lies, and ready to spread the truth, for better or worse?" But this time the assassin did not answer, he merely armed himself with a knife in one hand, and a gun in another. Yen Sid noticed this, and smiled. "Hmph, while it is refreshing to see a figure cloaked in something other than black", Yen Sid spread his arms, readying himself, "I assure you, I will not go down easily."

The assassin then raised his hand that held the gun, and shot at the old sorcerer, but Yen Sid summoned a Reflega barrier. He noticed the bullets corroding the barrier, which made him frown in irritation. Once the barrier was down, he noticed the assassin had disappeared, only to sense him from behind, and the assassin attempted to stab Yen Sid in the stomach with the knife.

Yen Sid only had time to raise his right arm in order to catch the blade before it cut him in any more vital areas. Yen Sid flinched at the pain, then with an Aeroga spell, pushed the Assassin back across the room. The assassin did a back-flip and landed on his feet, while Yen Sid looked at the wound in his arm. There was a stinging sensation coming from the wound, and the veins around the wound started darkening, and the color slowly spread across the arm. Yen Sid could tell that arm was of no more use, and turned his gaze at the assassin, determining that he was too much of a threat to leave him alive, and with his good hand, weaved a Firaga spell and fired it at the assassin, regardless of the damage the Tower would receive.

The assassin dodged all the fire balls, and as he did so, made his way closer to Yen Sid. Realizing the limited space was hindering him, Yen Sid decided to change the playing field, and raised his good hand upwards to blow away the ceiling. In a spectacular fashion, the ceiling broke apart, the pieces of woodwork remained floating in the air. The assassin looked up, and saw the stars in the sky now began moving fast, in a circular motion around the tower. He then looked back at Yen Sid, who's hair and clothes were know flailing about as the wind around them also began circling in a violent fashion.

Then, Yen Sid called out to the assassin, "Now, I'll show you the true power of a keyblade master!" With a wave of his hand, Yen Sid was elevated via a rock formation that erupted from beneath him. Then, with all the forces of the universe at his command, he summoned a torrent of water from below where they stood, outside of what remained of the Tower, and a storm of lightning roared about them. With a wave of his hand, Yen Sid hurled the elements down on the assassin. Waves of water rushed down towards him, but he jumped up, avoiding the splash. Using the floating debris, the assassin jumped towards Yen Sid, who then motioned the lightning to strike at the would-be killer. The assassin managed to avoid all the thunderbolts thrown his way, and as he got closer, Yen Sid then called upon the brooms, all of which came to life, and flew towards the assassin.

The assassin stopped advancing, and used his knife to cut down the living brooms, each of whom were armed with magical energy blades. Yen Sid couldn't help but be impressed at the stranger's skill, as well as the tenacity he had to try and go this far to kill the old Keyblade Master.

The assassin then threw grenades in all directions, and shot at them with his gun, clearing the area of the brooms. Yen Sid covered his face with his good hand from the flash of the explosions, then, as soon as he lowered his hand, he noticed the assassin was less than a meter away from him, having jumped and cleared that whole distance in a short amount of time.

It was here that Yen Sid finally called upon his Keyblade, Ultima, and used it to block the strike from the assassin's knife, which up close, was a lot bigger than he had expected. The two struggled in place, then released their blades and retreated backwards. Yen Sid then raised his keyblade to his face, as if getting in a fencing stance. The assassin responded by placing both his fists in front of him in a brawler-like display, one of which held his knife in a backwards manner. Then Yen Sid moved the keyblade from his face and pointed it towards the assassin, who in turn flipped his knife so it was facing the wizard, and the two dashed towards each other.

Both moved with impressive speed, and despite having lost one arm, Yen Sid held his own against the assassin, who showed no signs of tiring. The wizard only saw the commitment in the killer's eyes, the intruder was convinced that Yen Sid would fall this day.

The two exchanged blows, each striking, then blocking, then trying to out maneuver the other. Yen Sid then sensed that he could not carry on the fight much longer, whatever that knife was, it was poisoning him, and appeared to be destroying the magic circuits in his body, weakening his spells as time went on, and the pain became more unbearable.

Gritting his teeth, Yen Sid caught the assassin in one final parry, then with great force, pushed the assassin backwards. They were both back in the remains of the room, at the top of the Tower. Yen Sid figured he would have to use a Stop spell to freeze the killer in his tracks in order to be able to deal enough damage, and now that the killer was at a good enough distance, Yen Sid began to utter the strongest version of the spell, but heard the assassin scream something as well.

"Stopza!" cried the wizard.

"Time alter – Chronos Rose!" cried the assassin.

After the two uttered their time-manipulating spells, everything in their surroundings froze in place, and all sound left the area. With wide eyes, Yen Sid looked at the assassin, surprised that he had an ability to not only survive the stop spell, but still move freely. He had only heard Xehanort counter the spell in such a way. The assassin then moved with blinding speed towards Yen Sid, and before he could react, felt the knife stab his heart. Yen Sid then coughed out blood, and, with the assassin still within intimate range of the wizard, the blade still in his heard, Yen Sid could bear to stand no more, and rested his body on his killer.

The assassin then placed his free hand on the dying wizards back, and with a quick motion, pulled the blade out, causing Yen Sid to groan in pain. The assassin then proceeded to slowly and carefully lay the wizard down on the ground and on his back. Afterwards, the killer stood up, the two still looking at each other's eyes intently.

With a cough of blood, Yen Sid tried asking his killer with strain, "What is your goal?" The killer responded, "I have no goal". "Then, what is your master's goal?" the wizard struggled to ask again.

The assassin took a moment to respond, then told Yen Sid, "You people, you always discuss fighting back the darkness, and staying in the light. But you have no idea just what the darkness really is, how much it has already taken control over the universe. The darkness, the true enemy, it doesn't strike where you can see it, no, this enemy sits in the shadows, and destroys its adversaries with the very foundations they built to protect themselves. The true enemy uses words and ideas to break you, until you become its willing slave. Its power and intellect is beyond imagining, and it will consume everything because it convinced all its opposers to no longer defy it, but to beg for it to lead them. It would have you convinced that all that is good is evil, and all that is evil is good. My Master…. but… it is already too late."

And after his last words, the Stop spell finished, as well as all of Yen Sid's other spells. The debris fell to the ground, and the scenery he conjured up disappeared back into the void. With his last breath, Yen Sid tried to tell the assassin, "It is…. never too late….. as long… as even one….still….." and the wizard closed his eyes, and breathed his last.

The assassin gave one last look at his prey, "I used to believe that too, and so did my son", and then he vanished. Yen Sid laid peacefully in the remains of his home, a solemn expression left on his face.


	7. Chapter 6 - Terra and the Demon Tower

Back at the Bistro in Traverse Town, where Merlin and Archimedes were sitting, the Ultima Keyblade suddenly appeared right on their table, destroying the food, plates, and silverware as well as part of the table itself. Merlin and the owl jumped back in surprise, and everyone else in the vicinity was clearly startled.

Archimedes then landed on Merlin's shoulder, and the two started at the Keyblade, at first with confusion, then with concern. Merlin and his owl companion had a bad feeling, and they teleported away, taking the keyblade with them, leaving the civilians of Traverse Town in a shock.

As Merlin teleported to the Tower, he waved his hand, and its back, 3 symbols appeared, "Archer, to me!" Merlin commanded. Somewhere, Archer sensed Merlin and responded, "I'm coming, master!" Then the two both appeared at the base of the Tower, and looked upon it in horror. The top of the Mysterious Tower was utterly destroyed, and parts of the lower levels were broken, the insides visible. The surrounded area was drenched as well as worn, as if a flood or a tornado had torn through.

Merlin and Archer then jumped to reach the top of the Tower, and saw Yen Sid's body in the middle of the room. "Oh my goodness!" Archimedes cried. "Oh god…" Archer whispered. Merlin walked to the body of his friend, dragging the Ultimate keyblade along the floor, leaving scratch marks, until Merlin reached the body, and fell to his knees, causing Archimedes to fly off his back and hover in place, while Archer stood back.

We don't see Merlin's eyes, but his mouth trembles, and he bites his lip. Then he lays his free hand over Yen Sid's face, and keeps it there, while Merlin prepares to do some sort of meditation, as if to discern exactly what happened here.

As he does so, Archimedes flies towards Archer, "If someone like Yen Sid could fall, then none of the kids are safe! They'd all be walking to their deaths if we let them go to the Keyblade Graveyard!"

Archer hesitates before answering the owl, "I…. I don't think this was Xehanort's doing." The owl tilts his head, "What?! Who else could it be then?!" Trying to keep calm, Archer responded, "If this was him, he wouldn't have waited until we all left. On his own, Yen Sid was powerful, and if Xehanort was confident enough to take him down like this, then the rest of us would already be dead."

"He's right" confirmed Merlin. "Amazing, I can't see who exactly it was that took Master Yen Sid's life, but he's not one of Xehanort's. By Now, all of the organization members share Xehanort's power, and I sense none of that here."

"Could it be the one who placed the curse on the Reports about the War and other past events?" inquired Archer. Merlin looked doubtful, "We still don't know for sure what's up with the reports, and even then, if that was the case, we'd all be dead too. I… I don't know…."

Archimedes and Archer looked down in shame, feeling helpless at the situation. But Merlin stood back up, and desummoned the Ultimate Keyblade, which now belongs to him. "This changes nothing, we continue with the plan." Then Archimedes and Archer looked up to Merlin in shock, "What?! After Yen Sid's death, you STILL want to carry on with the strike plan at Xehanort's base?!"

Merlin turned and looked at them, his face now serious and confident, "Xehanort still has to be stopped. All this means is that I'll have to carry on in Yen Sid's place." But Archimedes continued to protest, "But shouldn't we at least tell the others about this?! I mean, what if-"

But it was Archer who interrupted the hysterical owl, "If we tell them what happened here, it would only lower their morale. We'll need them at their best if they're to see this through to the end. We're gonna need them to be willing to give it their all, including their life. We need them to believe we can win this, otherwise…"

Archimedes look at Archer, then at Merlin, shocked that the two would consider lying to the others and hide this tragic scene. But Merlin let out a sad smile at Archer, he was glad that his servant had felt the same way. "You go ahead and meet up with them at the Keyblade Graveyard, Archer" Merlin ordered his servant, "I'll finish up here, and I'll salvage whatever I can from the Tower. Yen Sid's death will not be in vain. Then, I shall join you all in the upcoming battle.

With a bow, Archer disappeared, while Merlin headed into the late Yen Sid's study, what was left of it, and pulled out his magic satchel bag, a device than can hold a lot more than it seems, a bag that was bigger on the inside. Merlin collected tomes, runes, grimoires, reports, Sora's old drive-form clothes, anything that wasn't too damaged from the fight. Archimedes was perched on some destroyed furniture, watching Merlin with sadness in his face. Then, once Merlin collected what he could, he summoned his loyal owl to him, and teleported themselves outside the Tower, near it's base. Merlin raised his staff, and set the Tower on fire.

"You did your duty well, old friend" Merlin vowed, "I will do my best to carry on in your place. Whatever secrets remain in your chambers, I will ensure no one can reach them." As the Tower burned, Archimedes acsked Merlin, "Where will you take his belongings?" Merlin continued to look forward, "For now, I'll leave them at the Garden of Avalon, it'll be safe there. I made that place into more than just my self-imposed prison, and the natives of the garden are powerful enough to ward off any malevolent forces." Satisfied, Archimedes looked on at the Tower as well, and the two watched it burn down to cinders.

Ω

They Keyblade graveyard, a barren wasteland in all directions, as far as the eye can see. It is all there is that proves that an army of sentinels, intergalactic police forces, once roamed the cosmos, keeping order across all the worlds, or rather, the One World. Then, due to some outside force, or one from within, the guardians of law and order turned on each other, and violated their oaths to protect all life. Their graves are marked with their keyblades, which to this day still stand, from the moment their wielders fell in battle.

Torrents of wind still populated the desert, and craters that resulted from awesome displays of power far beyond anything we've seen our heroes perform, yet still pale in comparison to the full might of the Keyblade, are spread across the land. But no life has been seen here in ages, not until Xehanort betrayed his comrades over 10 years prior, and again now, when Sora and the warriors of light, and Xehanort and his warriors of darkness, meet face-to-face in for the last time.

The group has gathered now: Sora, Kairi, and Riku; Mickey, Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy; Roxas, Axel, and Aqua; and Archer. The group takes in the desolate sight, taking a moment before entering the belly of the beast, then, with Sora leading, the group prepares to traverse the hellish badlands, and into the heart of the graveyard beyond the mountains.

Mickey was the one who spoke first, "It's time, the Keyblade Graveyard is up ahead." The rest of the group nod in agreement, but Sora sees someone in the distance and announces, "Someone's coming…"

As the dust storm cleared, we see Master Xehanort walking calmly towards them, which puts the group on alert. Then the old foe stops before them, smiling in confidence. "Legend has it that darkness once covered the world. We know so little about the Keyblade War – only that it was just the beginning. If ruin brings about creation, what then, would another Keyblade War bring? When the darkness falls, will we be found worthy of the precious light the legend speaks of?"

Then, Xehanort's Heartless appears beside him, and continues his speech in his place, "Or will all of creation be instead returned to the shadows? Today, we will recreate the legend and see."

Then Xemnas, Xehanort's nobody, appears on the other side, and continues the speech, "But first… your light shines far too brightly. It must be extinguished in order for the truth to be seen."

In front of them, Young Xehanort appears, and continues the speech, "Only when your hopes have been broken by battle upon battle, can the key be claimed to Kingdom Hearts, and break you is what we shall do. It has been etched."

From the group of Xehanorts, a dark cloud forms from their feet, then spreads to envelop everyone gathered. In the sky, countless heartless, nobodies, and unversed appear, and descend on the small group.

Sora shouts out, "Look at how many there are!" The others appear overwhelmed, but Archer states "Steady yourselves, this isn't the first time some of us have faced this many!" Mickey, following on Archer's lead, summons his keyblade and announces, "Ok, gang, get ready!"

The rest of the gang summons their weapons, Donald and Goofy summon their shield and staff respectively, and Archer summons two short curved blades: Kanshou and Bakuya. The two blades appear to be polar opposites of each other in color scheme, representing the yin-yang mirror image. Kanshou appears to be black with a white center, while Bakuya is white with a black center. Towards where the blade meets the handle, a yin-yang symbol is etched on both swords.

The group then forms a perimeter, ensuring that everyone's backs are covered, and prepare for the onslaught that awaits them.

Ω

In the distance, Maleficent and Pete can be seen emerging from a dark portal. The two look on at the upcoming battle, with Maleficent smiling, pleased that the box she has been looking for will soon be within her grasp.

"Excellent" the evil witch said with a grin, "Once these fools have taken each other out, the box should appear in the aftermath." Pete looked somewhat doubtful, since the two have been looking for the box for a while now, he was still unsure of its existence. "Hmmm, are you sure that the box won't show up until AFTER these yahoos fight? That we haven't been able to find it because, it technically doesn't exist yet?"

Maleficent's grin faded, and slowly turns to him, having been reminded that her only subordinate is a hulking fool, but the only fool she commands now, "Of course, you simpleton! Haven't you realized by now that time has been a greater factor in these events that we initially realized?" Pete then cowers back, expecting her to abuse him somehow, but she merely turns back to the battle, and her smile returns, "All we needed to do was wait, and time will be on our side. Patience, and we will have our just rewards. As Xehanort said, only once they have destroyed, will the truth be seen."

A voice calls from behind them, "And he has no idea just how truthful his words are". The two turn to face the voice coming from behind, and the see a man emerging from a portal. The man wore armor and a dark cloak, it's color hard to discern due to the dust. From behind the man, the Assassin appears as well. The two then approach Maleficent and Pete, and stand a safe distance away from them, as they share the view of the battle.

Pete addresses the armored man in anger, "You! You be the fella that lead us on this goose chace!" The armored man does not face Pete as he replies, his tone patronizing, and his royal accent complementing his every word, "I expected nothing of you, buffoon. But Maleficent, for discerning the nature of the box on her own, I applaud you".

Maleficent, keeping an eye on the two strangers, scoffs, "Hmph, but I must ask, why share this information with me? What do you get out of it?" The armored man wastes no time answering her with a question of his own, "Why did you, a powerful fairy in your own right, decide to recruit others for your cause? Why now, do you continue to let that overgrown feline cling to you?"

Pete grits his teeth and growls in frustration, and prepares to charge at the armored man, before Maleficent raises her staff to stop her subordinate from making a scene. She wished to hear the armored man's thoughts. The man then slowly turned to Maleficent, and continued, "Because as powerful as you are, more can be accomplished in numbers, and, we need others to do our dirty work."

With that, the armored man returns to face the battle, while Maleficent silently accepts the man's logic, but remains suspicious. She and Pete then return to admiring the view.

Ω

The group appears to have split off into smaller pairs. Sora and Kairi are fighting side by side, taking turns with who fires off spells and slashing with the keyblade, while behind them, Riku violently slashes at any unlucky enemies that come close.

Aqua gracefully moves across the battlefield, unleashed bright orbs of light at the many movie targets, while cutting down any that get to close for comfort. Axel and Roxas are back to back, with Axel having summoned 3 pillars of fire, and using the cover, Roxas unleashes various spells from beyond the fire pillars.

Mickey jumps and runs around bigger heartless, attacking them from multiple points until they finally fall down. Goofy is covering Donald while he summons down meteors, calls on thunder, and manipulates the winds.

Archer is moving fast across the field, covering the most distance, obliterating enemies as he movies, seeing if there's a weak point in the enemy army's formation, or place to force them into a choking point and pick them off in more manageable numbers. But he could find no such weakness, no such advantage for his comrades. He looked back and saw that the others were getting slower, and having more close-calls from attacks by enemies. Then Archer thought of something, and ran back to the center of what remains of their perimeter.

He reaches Aqua and motions her to follow him. "I have an idea, it'll take a few moments, and I'll need you to cover me, but I don't know any other way to get rid of this mob." Aqua calls on the others to reform their perimeter, shielding Archer completely from the enemy. "How long do you need?!" Sora yelled, barely hearing his own voice among the chaos. "About a minute if I'm not distracted!" Archer answered with a tone. Sora gave a look of frustration, then turned and continued to fend off the onslaught.

Archer was kneeling as if he was praying, then, he began, "I am the bone of my sword…"

"What are we doing?!" Goofy yelled hysterically. "I don't know!" Donald responded, "and why are we fighting while he gets to rest?!" the duck sputtered in his screechy voice.

Archer continued, "Steel is my body, and fire is my blood…. I have created over a thousand blades…."

"If this guys' coming up with terms of surrender!..." Axel cried, while bursting many heartless and unversed in flames, "He could at least look more dignified!" Roxas couldn't help but laugh, "I think he has something bigger in mind, Axel!" as he performs a combo on a helpless group of nobodies foolish enough to break the perimeter by rushing him.

Archer continued, "Unknown to death, nor known to life….."

"This is not quite how I expected this to start out!" Kairi yelled, looking nervous, but holding strong as she blocks 3 separate attacks from a heartless soldier, a dusk nobody, and an unversed, and manages to push them back. Sora then fires a spell on the three enemies who were made defenseless from Kairi's counter, "Neither did I, but we'll get through this! With you here, I know we'll get through this!" They turn to face each other, smiling, then resume holding off the horde.

Archer continued, "I have withstood pain to create many weapons, yet those hands shall never hold anything again…."

"We've come this close!" Aqua yelled, firing 3 energy balls to a larger heartless, "We're not gonna lose here, not when we've barely started!"

And Archer finally finishes, "So, as I pray, UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS!" And at that moment, light shined from beneath him, and spread across the whole battlefield, causing the rest of the group to shield their eyes. After a moment, the light was gone, and the group could open their eyes again. Sora expected something to be different, or the enemy horde to be gone, but nothing was different. The horde was still there, and so was the desert, and the Keyblades lying all over the place…

No, Sora thought, upon closer inspection. This wasn't the same desert, and those weren't the same blades. This desert lacked the canyons of the Keyblade Graveyard. The blades were different too, they looked like more conventional swords now, but each was a different design, as if from different eras and cultures. And it wasn't just swords spread around either, Sora noticed spears, scythes, and various other types of weapons. But that wasn't what surprised him the most. He then looked up at the sky, and gasped, prompting the others to look up as well, and their reaction was similar.

They saw massive gears in the sky, turning, as if they were tied to a gigantic mechanism, but if they were, the group could not see it. Some gears were turning despite not being connected to anything, while some other gears appeared to have fallen to the ground after excessive use.

"Where…" Riku spoke up, in awe, "Where the hell are we?" Archer finally stood up, and walked out of the perimeter, facing the horde alone. "We're inside a reality marble, a pocket dimension of my making. You could say this is my Noble Phantasm."

"What's a noble phantasm?" Roxas asked, and it was Axel who answered him, "Think of it like his final ability, similar to our transformations and commands, but in a more spectacular scale." "And as long as I can hold it up, in here" Archer resumed with a grin of malice, "I'm practically God."

Archer then burst forward with incredible speed, grabbing whatever weapon that lie in front of him, and cut down countless numbers of enemies in his path. When he was bored of a weapon, he threw it at another enemy, killing it, before picking up another, and repeated the process. Using swords, spears, scythes, guns, nun-chucks, and whatever else he could get his hands on, Archer cleared the immediate area surrounding the others, until finally he was satisfied at leaving them with enough room to breath, and ensuring they wouldn't be caught with his next attack.

As the others looked on in amazement, Archer jumped up to an incredible height, then, with a motion of his hand, all the remaining weapons shook in the ground, and burst out into the air, flying towards Archer. When he felt he had gathered enough weapons, he motioned his hand downward, and the weapons rained down on the horde, completely obliterating the remaining army of darkness. Once the last heartless, nobody, and unversed were dealt with, Archer descended back into the ground, the the Noble Phantasm ceased its activity, and the group returned to the Badlands in the Keyblade Graveyard.

All the enemies had gone, and all that remained in the crater was Sora and the gang. They all looked at Archer in amazement, and proceeded to cheer him and pat him on the back, but after a second, Archer nearly fell to the ground, stopping himself by landing on one knee. Axel and Roxas caught up and proceeded to help him back up.

"Whoa there, buddy, take it easy" Axel said, with awe still in his voice. "Damn, if I knew you could do THAT, I would've been fine just marching in here with just the two of us!" Archer smiled and let out a soft laugh, "Heh, well, don't expect me to be able to spam that move, it takes a lot of energy. I didn't like that I had to use it this early in the fight, I was hoping I could catch the organization in it. Now I'll have to re-establish my connection with my master, so he can lend me his energy. Which means this time, I'll be borrowing off of Merlin, and I don't want to use any more power than I absolutely have to."

After a moment, Archer was able to stand on his own again, as if he didn't just wear himself out with that energy-taxing move. "Let's hope the enemy saw that, and thinks twice before dropping another horde on us. Otherwise, if they call my bluff, I won't be able to do it again, unless Merlin himself allows it."

"Where is Master Merlin, anyway?" Kairi asked. Archer turned to face her, "He'll be here, but he's getting something important done first." "It'd better be damn important" grumbled Axel. "Trust me, it is" Archer responded. With that, the group headed for the canyons. After briefly trekking through a cave, the group made it out of the canyons, and finally made it out of the badlands, and into the heart of the Keyblade Graveyard. Here, even more swords were seen scattered about, groups of blades packed more densely together. Whatever battle happened here, it appeared to be more intense than what happened in the area prior.

Mickey turned around to reassess the group, "Is everybody okay?" Axel gave a thumbs up, while the rest gave a nod. Satisfied, it was Sora who said, "Come on, lets go!"

Then Roxas saw someone in the distance, beyond the storm of dust. As the storm cleared, the group could see that it was Terra who stood before them. Without thinking, Roxas cried out, "Terra!" and ran to him. Aqua called out to Roxas, "Roxas, wait!" And Axel tried to stop him, but they were too late. Aqua then went after him.

When Roxas reached Terra, he grabbed his arm, "Terra! We found you!" But Terra just looked at him, expressionless. Aqua finally reached the two, and when she saw his face again up close, she couldn't help but join Roxas and try to reach her friend. "Terra, please say you're in there." But then Terra's eyes started to show a hint of malice, which Aqua noticed, and quickly pulled Roxas back.

As Axel and the rest ran towards them, Roxas asked, "What gives, Aqua?!" But Aqua addressed the man who looked like Terra, "I know you're not him." Roxas gasped and looked back at the man who stood before them. Aqua continued, "Now let our friend go!"

The Terra lookalike laughed, and then allowed his form to change, his hair turned white, and his eyes shift from blue to yellow. Then Mickey remarked, "HE is their thirteenth!"

Terranort finally spoke to the group, "Today is the day you all lose." "What?!" Aqua yelled in defiance.

"Before you even face the thirteen" Terranort resumed, "every last one of you will be torn heart from body. But fear not" he says while he summons his Keyblade, "The X-blade will still be forged!"

It was Sora who spoke back to Terranort, "We're not gonna lose to you." But Terranort merely scoffed at Sora's empty threat, and teleported towards them. Before Aqua could react, Terranort had reappeared beside her and in front of Roxas, and was about to strike him. But Archer managed to reach them, and, with the three to his right, he fired off a single shot to deflect Terranort's attack, catching Roxas off guard and causing Terranort to retreat backwards in anger. Terranort scowled at Archer, who looked back at him with a stern face.

Then Terra looked back at the group and saw Roxas and Axel running towards him, Keyblades ready to strike. Terra blocked their attacks one after the other, each of Roxas's and Axel's attacks deflected or otherwise missing Terranort entirely. Then Terranort looked up and saw Aqua pointing her Keyblade at him, firing off three energy balls. Terranort dodged to is left, while Roxas and Axel were forced to dodge to the right to avoid her attack.

The rest of the group proceeded to help the three, but Archer stopped them from continuing any further. "What are you doing?!" Sora asked in anger, "We gotta help them!" "This is there fight" Archer said sternly. "Terra is their friend, and so they need to be the ones to save him. As for Axel, he has ties to Roxas, and therefore Ventus. If Axel can help get Terra back, then, maybe he'll finally stop feeling guily." Sora wasn't having it, but Riku put a hand on his shoulder, indicating that he understood what Archer's logic. Sora looked at Riku, and with a resentful groan, agreed not to help them fight Terranort. Donald and Goofy also let out a resentful groan, before they too decided to watch the battle play out.

Roxas, Aqua, and Axel stood beside each other while facing Terranort, who merely smiled at the three's futile efforts to reclaim Terra. Then the three rushed at him, and he deflected each of their attacks with little visible effort. Axel swung from the left, but Terranort stopped it with his hand using a dark energy ball; Roxas swung from above, but Terranort ducked and avoided the blow; Aqua swung from the left, but Terranort deflected with his Keyblade; then Terranort kicked Roxas back, and shoved Axel and Aqua away with impressive force.

Terranort then pointed his keyblade at Roxas and activated Thundaga, but Roxas managed to defend himself with Relfega. Aqua then charged at Terranort, but Terranort threw his Keyblade at her, catching her in mid air and knocking her back. Then Axel charged at him, and Axel swung every direction he could, but Terranort either dodged him, or used his hands to catch Axels arms to block his attacks. Finally, Terranort caught both of Axels hands, and the two were locked in place. Terranort smiles while Axel struggled, then Axel headbutted Terranort, disorienting the villain. While he was still caught in his arms, Axel summoned a pillar of fire, prepared burn himself if needed. Terranort noticed this in time and let go of Axel, but art of the fire pillar caught him, burning and injuring him.

As Terranort fell back, he groaned and put the fire out, only to get caught by a Firaga ball by Axel, knocking him even further back. Roxas appeared behind Terranort, and swung his Keyblade, knocking Terranort back in the direction he came. Just as Terranort has reached the center distance between Roxas and Axel, Aqua appeared above him, and with all her might, fired down on him with her signature energy balls, driving Terranort into the ground. The group watching cheered for the three, as Roxas, Axel, and Aqua proceeded to surround the hole that Terranort fell into.

After a moment, Terranort shouted out from the hole, "Graviga!" And a minature black hole formed above the three, pulling them in. Terranort jumped out of the ground showing signs of wear, and unleashed a Thundaga spell on the trio as they were caught in the gravity spell. When the spell ended, the three fell to the ground. Each tried to get up, but they were clearly injured, enough for Terranort to try and pick them off one by one. He walked over to Aqua first, smiling at the helpless girl, "It appears you failed again," and was about to swing his Keyblade down on her, until a force blocked Terranort's blow, causing a small explosion in the area where they stood.

The group watching them gasped in shock, and as they waited for the smoke to clear, they saw someone in golden and crimson armor, and a cape, standing before Terranort, deflecting his blow intended for Aqua. Furious, Terranort called out to the armored being, "Who are you?!" With Terra's voice, the armor replied, "Got you, Xehanort."

Donald cried out, "Wah! Is that?!" Goofy finished his question, "The Lingering Will?" Sora gasped at this as well, the three had fought this entity when they found a portal in King Mickey's castle, back Xemnas was still the main threat. They didn't realize back then that the place they fought the Lingering Will was the Keyblade Graveyard. With little effort, the Lingering Will pushed Terranort back.

Aqua called out to the Lingering Will, "Terra?" Terranort couldn't fathom how this had happened, "This is impossible!" Then the living armor walked towards Terranort, "How I've waited for this moment." Terranort prepared to battle the armor, then the armor transformed its Keyblade into a whip-like weapon, and flung it at Terranort. The villain tried to block it, but only got his Keyblade caught in the whip, then the Lingering Will pulled Terranort back towards him. While he was in mid-air, Terranort let go of his Keyblade, and allowed himself to fall down upon the Lingering Will, but the moving armor retracted his Keywhip weapon and transformed it into yet another apparatus, a massive looking gun that fired a massive beam of energy at Terranort, who was helplessly caught in the blast.

But Terranort managed to endure the attack, and re-summoned his keyblade while suspended in the air. The living armor then changed its weapon back into its normal Keyblade form, and charged at Terranort. The two engaged in a flashy battle while flying in the sky, while Roxas, Aqua, and the rest could do nothing but watch. Roxas called out his friend's name, "Terra!" and was about to run to his aid, until Aqua stopped him. "Roxas, no" she said to the boy, "For now, let… let Terra figure himself out, we have to save our strength." Roxas looked back at the two versions of his friend, shook Aqua's hand off of him, then, with stomp of the ground, agreed to stay back for now.

Terranort and the Lingering Will appeared to be equally matched, until the Will managed to briefly overtake Terranort, and send him crashing back to the ground. The Lingering Will remained airborne, while it waited for the dust to settle. Then Terranort came back into view, angrily staring at the living armor. The Lingering Will then charged downward to meet his possessed body, but Terranort smiled, and summoned dark chains from all around him, and sent them towards the living armor. The Lingering Will noticed the chains and tried to dodge them while still airborne, but the chains moved about to rapidly for it to safely glide out of the way, and ended up getting caught in one of the chains. Grinning, now Terranort relished in the opportunity to make the armor crashing down into the ground.

The group gasped in concern, watching as Terranort then used the chains to lift the armor back up, only to smack it into the ground again and again in a rag-doll fashion. After enough thrashing, Terranort had the chains pull the armor closer to him, until he could stare at it face-to-face. "Look at you, an empty shell, causing me so much trouble. After all this time, you survived our last match… but no more."

Terranort was about to bash the Lingering Will to pieces, until a shape took form behind him. It was the guardian, the mysterious heartless-like entity that was occasionally seen shielding several of Xehanort's bodies with its seemingly indestructible body. Terranort looked back at the Guardian, an without warning, the guardian grabbed onto him, squeezing his body. Terranort couldn't deal with the pain much longer, and had to release the Lingering Will from his chains.

The living armor slowly rose to its feet, while Terranort struggled with his own guardian, "How?!" he screamed, demanding an explanation. "You fell to the dark-" but he was interrupted when the guardian violently threw him to the ground. Terranort tried to get up, but was then pinned down by the Lingering Will. Terranort managed to look up at the guardian, who struggled to tear off the bandages that bound its mouth. With great effort, the guardian finally tore off the bandages, and, after several dry coughs, spoke in a familiar voice that horrified Terranort, "…..One day…..I… will….set…..this….right…" It was Terra's voice, Terra had manifested in the armor, and now in the guardian. The armor then held Terranort up to the guardian, who then continued to speak, "One day….I will set…this right… I will return to this land…and protect…my friends!"

It was at this point that Sora knew what he needed to do. Just as he saved Ventus/Roxas, Sora summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it at the three aspects of Terra. Giving him the warning, Sora yelled, "Terra, now!" Then the guardian stood at the same level as Terranort and the armor, and all three were caught in the beam coming from Sora's Keyblade as he performed another Waking. As the three began to glow, there was an explosion. After the dust settled, all that remained was Terra, who fell back to the ground. As he slowly rose back up, Aqua and Roxas yelled out, "Terra!" and ran towards him. Hearing their voices, Terra faced them and ran towards them as well. Roxas reached him first and hugged him, then Aqua right afterwards. Terra put one arm around Roxas, and the other around Aqua, and held them close, burying his face in Aqua's neck. Aqua cried out his name again, softly, "Terra? Is it really you?" Then the three loosened their embrace, but still kept each other in their arms, and Terra managed to get a good look at them. Aqua looked a little older, wearier, while the boy he knows as Ven had different clothes than the apprentice attire he's used to seeing him wearing, and got a sense that the boy was more mature and battle-hardened now.

Then Terra finally responded, "Yeah… you never stopped lighting my way back." Aqua got a little choked up, and Terra used his arm that was covering her to wipe a tear from her face, and then looked down to Ventus (Roxas). "You're really here" the small Keyblade wielder said with awe. Terra smiled, "I heard you too, Ven." Ventus (Roxas) then said in a sobbing voice, "See? I kept my promise." Terra nodded, "Yeah, you found me, just like you promised." As he himself began to tear up, the three fell to their knees, and hugged each other tighter again. "Thank you" Terra sobbed, as the group looked at them with joy. Axel waved his hand in an "alright!" manner; Mickey, Donald, and Goofy jumped in the air in celebration; Sora and Kairi held each other close, with Sora using his free hand to wipe his lips off as he'd done sometimes after a victory; and Riku and Archer stood there, smiling.

The three then stood back up, and joined the group. Terra was greeted by Axel, Mickey, then Sora and Riku. It took a second for Terra to recognize the two young boys from the island, before it finally caught up with him. He didn't say anything, only smiled, and laughed. Then Archer got a bad feeling, and looked behind him, and saw a troublesome sight, "Uh, guys? I hate to ruin the moment again, but" and as the group turned toward Archer, they saw him pointing at the sky, where another horde of heartless had prepared to ambush them.

"Ugh, never a dull moment around here!" Axel groaned. None of them liked it, but they all summoned their weapons and prepared for another round before they could finally take the fight to Master Xehanort and the Organization.

"This time" Terra said to Ventus (Roxas) and Aqua, "we'll be fighting together." The two looked at him, then looked back at the oncoming horde with a nod. But then, the group felt the very earth tremble, and not one, but several heartless swarms burst from the ground. They violently flung about in the air, then joined into one larger swarm at a single spot not far from where the group was standing. As more swarms joined into one, they ended up taking the form of a massive tornado. The tornado grew, until it was too big for the group to stay at their current distance, and were forced to pull back due to the heartless-tornado swirling around with enough force to cause powerful ducts of wind to fly in its direction, sucking everything into it.

Axel looked at Archer, "Now would be a good time to do your thing again!" Archer faced Axel and gave him a frustrated look, "Did you already forget what I said, earlier?! That was my trump card, and I already used it up! Any more would only wear out my master, then not only would he be weakened, but I'd disappear forever!" Axel gritted his teeth, then faced the heartless-twister, while Archer muttered to himself, "Come on, Merlin, where are you? If you don't come in soon, I just might use Unlimited Blade Works again, I don't care what you're doing right now that's so important…"

As the group tried to hold their ground, Aqua looked on in horror, "It can't be…no…." The very sight of the horde that took shape before her had lowered her defenses enough that she didn't see a heartless swarm spring out of the tornado, flying towards her and grabbing hold of her. "Aqua!" Terra yelled, and then more swarms came out of the tornado, each trying to overwhelm or catch the remaining warriors. One went for Roxas, who barely saw it coming, but Axel noticed it and jumped in front of Roxas, and summoned three fire pillars to defend them. The swarm ran into the pillars, but did not let up on their pursuit. With Roxas and Axel inside the three rotating pillars, the swarm kept bashing at them, until the pillars ceased to be. The two boys then tried to swing at the swarm, only to be caught by it. Mickey caught a swarm heading for Donald and Goofy and tried to fight it off, but all three of them ended up getting caught. Archer desperately fired off as many arrows at he could at the swarms, before forcing to use his swords when they got too close, but he ended up getting caught as well. All that remained was Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

The three valiantly attempted to fight off the swarms, with Riku and Sora slashing at any heartless that dared get too close, while Kairi fired off every spell she knew. Then three swarms converged on the trio, quickly descending down on them. Sora and Riku didn't see them, but Kairi did, and managed to activate Reflega just in time. The three swarms pounded on the shield, but Kairi kept it up as long as she could. The swarms continued pounding, causing the three in the shield to be driven further into the ground, but still, Kairi persisted. Sora looked at her struggling to keep them safe in the worst possible situation and cursed himself for not thinking of anything. Then Riku said, "Kairi! When I tell you to, release the barrier, alright?" "Huh?" Sora and Kairi said together, looking at Riku. He then held up his keyblade, motioning it upwards and letting a spark of lighting burst from the tip, and the two understood. Sora got on the otherwise of Kairi, and together with Riku, prepared his Keyblade. "NOW!" Riku roared, and at once, Kairi let down the barrier, and he and Sora both yelled out "THUNDAGA!"

At their command, massive bolts of powerful lightning stuck at the swarms, causing them to retreat momentarily. The three kids then panted, all of them exhausted from prolonged fighting. Then Sora said, "We…have to….get them back…we have…." But then Kairi saw another swarm heading straight for Sora. Out of MP, Kairi did the only thing she could do, and pushed Sora out of the way, the swarm grabbing her instead. Sora looked on as Kairi got dragged away. He reached out to grab her, and Kairi reached out to him, but before he knew it, Kairi was drawn away, and into the tornado.

Sora then fell back down to his knees, dropped his keyblade, and let out a cry of despair as his fists hit the ground. Riku ran to him and called out in a concerned voice, "Sora!" With his face still on the ground, Sora replied in a helpless voice, "They're gone. Kairi, Donald, Goofy, the King….gone forever." Finally, Sora looked up at Riku, and Riku saw his friend in tears and pleading to him, "What do we do?" Riku just looked at him, not knowing what to answer as Sora continued, "Without them…I…All my strength came from them! They gave me all of it! Alone….I'm worthless…..We've lost….It's over…"

Riku reached out to Sora, but didn't touch him. After a moment, he stood up, and with new determination, said to his friend, "Sora, you don't believe that. I know you don't." Sora looked at him again, as Riku then walked forward to face another swarm heading straight for them. Riku took a deep breath, held his Keyblade back, then struck forward to part the heartless swarm. Sora watched as the swarm kept running into Rikus Keyblade, as Riku stood there defiantly, not letting either of them get caught. Then Sora noticed one of Riku's hands get engulfed in darkness, and Sora tried calling to him.

But then, something in the sky, like a meteor of light, came crashing into the ground, dispelling the heartless swarm and released Riku from his hold. The blast from the light-meteor's impact pushed Riku and Sora back a bit. They couldn't see what it was, there was too much dust in the air, but they could still see a light, presumably from where the thing crashed. Sora and Riku got up and tried to approach it, then the two heard a voice coming from the light, "I am SOOoooo sorry that I'm late, guys! But I promise you, it was worth it!" The figure waved its hand, and in a second, the dust cleared away, revealing the man in a while robe and hood, a black staff in one hand, and the Ultima Keyblade. "Merlin!" The two boys called out, and the youthful-looking wizard turned around and gave them a peace sign and a smile "Wattup?"

The two boys laughed, and were filled with hope again. "Since I knew the heartless, nobodies, and unversed weren't gonna leave us alone to deal with Master Xehanort and the Organization, I figured I'd get some help to keep these things distracted. Unfortunately, he takes A LOT of convincing before he's willing to lend a hand" Merlin finished with a groan and a comical sweat drop on the back of his head. Riku and Sora looked at each other, then back at Merlin, and Sora said to him, "Kairi and the rest have-" "Yeah, yeah, don't worry about them" Merlin responded, shooing Sora's concerns away, "Just let me do my thing!" Sora grunted, then he and Riku watched as the White Wizard of Flowers did his thing.

Then Merlin put his two hands together, joining his staff and keyblade, and with the two together, struck the ground hard, causing a shockwave to spread from the epicenter. Then Merlin spoke aloud, "I call upon the Flames of Truth to rain down upon my enemies! I command the chains of heaven, earth, and hell to be unleashed!" As he chanted, Sora and Riku noticed a large bright ball of fire, like a sun, appear in the sky. From this new sun, fire balls separated from it, and crashed into the ground, destroying heartless in the process. The tornado still remained, but Merlin wasn't done, "I summon the king of dragons to do my bidding, and smite all who dare to oppose me! Let all those who stand against me…..KNOW THE MIGHT…..OF BAHAMUT!" At the command of that name, a massive structure with glowing runes all over it came out of the sun-like object and crashed into the ground, taking out more heartless. Sora and Riku looked in awe as the miniature sun began to break apart, like an egg, and from inside came a terrifying and colossal dragon. Its roar blew apart the rest of the cage that held it, and it's wings blew like a hurricane. As it flew around the field, more fire balls, like meteorites, fell off of the monster, and annihilated everything in sight.

Bahamut flew directly into the tornado, and immediately came out the other side. As the tornado tried to reform, Sora and Riku saw the dragon holding something in its hands. As it flew towards them, Bahamut lowered its hand, and released what he contained. It was Kairi, and Axel, and the rest of them. Sora and Riku grunted with joy as the dragon gently lowered them to the ground. "Good boy!" Merlin said pridefully. "Now, if you wouldn't mind?" The dragon looked beyond where Merlin was pointing, and saw the tornado persisting to stay.

Bahamut growled, then flew up high into the sky, fireballs falling off his body and crashing into the ground, annihilating any that dared to come near the group. When Bahamut reached orbit, he opened his mouth and began to charge up his Mega-Flare, a powerful one-shot attack with devasting power, but not his strongest attack, lest he tried to take out the entire planet, and the rest of the solar system. Then Bahamut unleashed his attack onto the planet, and it came crashing right into the tornado of heartless, completely eviscerating it. Sora, Riku, and the rest prepared to be thrown back by the explosion, but when the realized they weren't, they saw a large barrier had been erected over them, and Merlin standing in front of them, admiring the view his summon wrought forth.

Finally, once the shockwave from the explosion was done spreading out, Merlin released the barrier, and turned to the kids, "Bahamut will keep these guys busy by drawing them to him." He then cast a party-wide Curaga spell, healing everyone, before saying, "Why don't we take advantage of this and go whip all of Xehanort's 13 assess, huh?" Everyone in the group stood up, nodded in agreement, and followed Merlin into the field beyond.


	8. Chapter 7 - The Gauntlet

In the Radiant Gardens, Ansem prepares to enter the virtual Twilight Town to retrieve Subject X. Dilan, Aeleus, and Leon agreed to escort him, while Ienzo, Yuffie, and Cid monitor from the control room. "Once we find her" Ansem told his three guards, "allow me, and only me to approach, she may not register you all as allies. We don't know how stable she is, but I do know she is rather powerful" Then Ansem turned to face forward, and muttered to himself, "which I found out the hard way."

With that, Ansem was taken into the virtual world. After him was Leon, then Dilan, then Aeleus. All four of them were in the control room in the basement of the virtual Mansion, only the basement had been altered somehow. It looked unnatural, twisted, and dark. Ansem correctly deduced that she was still somewhere in the mansion.

"This is where you hid her? This whole time?" Dilan asked his master. "Not the whole time" Ansem replied, "While I was under the persona of DiZ, I had kept her underneath the old Hollow Bastion Fortress, out beyond the borders of the Radiant Gardens. It was not the most pleasant place to keep her, and she had been there for too long. Once this world showed signs of safety, I then removed her and brought her into this virtual world. With Roxas being your target, I surmised you would not care to venture in here again." Dilan and Aeleus grunted, while Leon ventured to ask, "What exactly did you do to her before you finally grew a conscience?"

Ansem turned to face Leon's judgmental eyes, and responded, "I will not lie, I did terrible things in the name of science. I was starved, ravishing, for knowledge, and initially I did not see her as living being, but a merely a weapon in human form. We knew nothing of her, and neither did she. I was willing to do whatever it took to gleam answers from her, even if it meant stripping away her identity and her life force with my replicas and any other devices I had at the time." Ansem then turned away, then tried to continue without showing his emotions, "I am damned, Leon. It would be a miracle if this next act that I perform redeems me of all my past sins. Now come, she is likely in Namine's bedroom, and that's assuming she did not alter the layout of the mansion considerably." Then he resumed walking, with Leon, Dilan, and Aeleus following.

Ω

As the group ventured further into the Keyblade graveyard, they finally reached the crossroads. Along the way, each of them took count as best they could of all the keyblades they were able to spot. "Every single one of them..." Kairi pointed out. "Died a warrior's death" Archer finished for her. She looked back to him, and he said "It's too late to mourn them now, Kairi. We win today, and this won't have to happen again." Kairi then turned to face forward again, before Sora, who was walking beside her, managed to catch her gaze. The two stared at each other, and without saying a word, resumed marching forward with conviction.

Merlin, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped once they were actually at the crossroads. Starting into the distance, he mentally prepared himself. Then Sora and the rest of the group saw who it was that caused Merlin to stop. Out in the distance, Master Xehanort and his remaining vessels of the Organization, marched out to meet them. "Steel yourselves" Merlin commanded his group, and they mentally, silently prepared for the fight of their lives.

Xehanort's group then halted, and now the two groups could face each other within shouting distance, at the center of the crossroads of the Keyblade Graveyard. Then Master Xehanort began his monologue, "Today, we join these other wielders and leave our mark on fate. I have waited patiently… but together, we shall unlock the Keyblade War's secrets."

Merlin flinches at that last statement, thinking back to how many have been manipulated to keep the lie going, and how many must have died or got corrupted like Xehanort, in the pursuit to the truth. Then Master Xehanort summoned his keyblade, The Gazing Eye, and resumed his monologue, "Now we forge it. The ultimate key…" and then he struck his Keyblade to the ground, causing a reaction where walls rose from the ground, enveloping everyone in a maze-like construct. Then Xehanort and his vessels were seen rising above the group on top of one of the maze's walls, with Xehanort rising highest on a mountain-like platform.

The others looked around at their surroundings, grunting in surprise, but Merlin merely stared up at Master Xehanort, and Xehanort started back down to the White Wizard, grinning. Then Merlin said to his band of soldiers, "Here we go" and they grunted in acknowledgement, then marched ahead of him. As their two small armies prepared to clash, Marlin teleported to where Master Xehanort stood, and the two faced each other. The sky turned dark, and while there was no rain, thunder clouds still formed overhead.

Down in the battlefield-maze below, the match-offs began to form:

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy vs Xigbar

Aqua and Terra vs Larxene and Luxord

Roxas, Axel, and Archer vs Marluxia, Saix, and Demyx

Sora, Kairi, and Riku vs Xemnas, Young Xehanort, Ansem-Xehanort, and Dark Riku

Satisfied with how all their pawns ended up, Master Xehanort asked Merlin sarcastically, "Now then, ready to play?"

Ω

In the arena between Xigbar and Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, the trigger-happy gunslinger stated with disappointed, "I didn't expect to use my guns for poaching" while letting out a smile toward the trio. Xigbar resumed, "I think I'll stuff the King and hang him up somewhere, while the duck will make a nice evening meal, as for the mut, well, I doubt I can teach an old dog new tricks."

As Mickey prepared to charge, Xigbar fired off a few shots, but Goofy blocked all of them. Amused, Xigbar prepared to reload, only to deal with Donald using Thundaga on him, forcing him to dodge to the side. It during this maneuver that Mickey decided to pounce on Xigbar, who barely managed to block the King's attack, and was pushed back against the wall and causing it damage. "Tch, you sure got some spunk in ya, for a rat."

Mickey gave the one-eyed gunslinger an intense gaze before responding, "Hmph, you have terrorized innocent lives long enough!" Then Xigbar coughed before he said, "Heh, I've still got a few bullets left, enough for each of you!" And pushed Mickey back. Donald took this chance to fire of a Blizzaga spell at Xigbar to try in pin him in place, but he quickly jumped out of the hole in the wall and managed tor reload both his guns.

As the trio tried to rush him, Xigbar fired off multiple shots upward, then the shots came raining back down and spread across the field, forcing the three to retreat backwards. As the shots slowly rained down across the field, forming a sort of barrier between them and Xigbar, he took the change to reload his guns again, and then fired off a few shots at each of them. Mickey deflected the shots with his Keyblade, while Goofy relied on his shield and Donald relied on a Reflega barrier.

Then Xigbar asked them, "I wonder, does this count as animal cruelty if the animals can fight back?!" and continued to fire off more shots as the three were running out of room to retreat, the hail of bullets still raining down on the arena. Then Goofy said, "I've got an idea!" And Mickey and Donald looked at him. "Get behind me!" Goofy said, and raised his shield in front of him. Mickey and Donald quickly ran up to Goofy, while Xigbar looked on with curiosity.

Once the three musketeers were lined up, the three charged through the bullet-hail and straight towards Xigbar, who was not expecting the kamikaze-like charge from the three naïve-looking animals. He shot at the shield to no avail. And when he jumped out of the way, Donald froze him with Blizzaga, and while he was frozen mid-air, Mickey unleashed a sonic-blade combo on the frozen gunslinger, and then finished off by firing several balls of light that homed in on him. After the spectacular explosions from each ball of light, Xigbar then fell to the ground.

The three musketeers were breathing heavily now. With a grunt, Xigbar tried to get back up, but found he didn't have the strength, "Figures…. If I had a keyblade, it'd be different…"

Donald replied, "You are not worthy to wield one!" "Oh" Xigbar replied quickly, "I _am_ worthy." The three looked at each other in shock. Goofy asked, "Uhh, whaddaya mean?"

Xigbar trusted one of his guns in the ground, and used it to help him stand back up, then responded, "The old coot promised to bequeath me his. Why else do you think I would ever put up with all his nonsense?"

Mickey took offense at Xigbar's arrogance and said, "The Keyblade would be wasted on you!" But the gunslinger merely laughed, "Ha! As if.." He was about to disappear before the trio could finish him off, then a shot fired from beyond the arena, and pierced Xigbar's other eye. The musketeers were caught off guard, as blood splattered the wall behind Xigbar's head. Now completely blind, the gunslinger fell to the ground, and he was no more.

"Where'd that shot come from?" Goofy asked in a panic as all three of them tried to take cover. Mickey looked around and saw a figure on the top of the wall, moving away. "You there, stop!" Mickey called out to the figure as he jumped up to confront it. When Mickey made it to the top, he saw the shooter, it was the red Assassin.

"Who are you?!" Mickey commanded, "and how are you involved in all this?!" The Assassin's back was toward the King, and did not respond. "Answer me!" the King demanded in his high-pitched voice. "I did what you couldn't do" the Assassin answered, barely turning his face in Mickey's direction. "With him and Yen Sid gone, there is only one Master of the old world left."

Mickey gasped at the mention of his mentor's name, "Master Yen Sid? What happened to him?! Tell me!" Mickey said this and pointed his Keyblade at him. Now the Assassin decided to turn and face the King entirely, "If everything goes right, then you'll all see the truth." Mickey, dissatisfied with the answer, charged at him, but the assassin shot at the King with his unusual gun, the force of the bullets knocking Mickey back despite deflecting them. Mickey nearly fell off the wall before the Assassin stopped firing, and when Mickey had a chance to recover and go after him, the Assassin was gone.

Mickey looked everywhere, but could not find the Assassin, then looked at the ground in sadness. Goofy and Donald called up to him, "Mickey?! Hey Mickey!" Finally, Mickey jumped back down to join them, his face still sad and his eyes still looking downward. "Who was that guy?" Donald screeched. "Did something happen up there?" Goofy followed up. "He" Mickey started to respond, "Yen Sid…. He…." Donald and Goofy looked at Mickey in concern.

Ω

Aqua was engaged with Larxene, while Terra fought Luxordl. "Well-well!" Larxene said to Aqua, "quite the hunk you've got there!" referring to Terra. "Tell me, is he seeing anyone?" The question infuriated Aqua, and caused her to hurl energy balls at Larxene, who managed to dodge them while laughing. "Ha ha ha! Aww, jealous much? Stuck in the friend zone, are ya?!" Then she threw her lightning daggers at Aqua, who deflected them all with a swing of her Keyblade.

With Terra and Luxord, the two seemed to be at a standoff. "If you played your cards right, boy" Luxord said, "you wouldn't have lost favor with the Master!" Then Luxord's cards surrounded Terra, while Luxor himself hid within one of them. "Now it looks like you've been dealt a bad hand!" said the con man from within one of the cards. Terra fired off various spells at the cards, only to reveal them as empty. Luxord laughed before provoking him, "Try again!" and Terra let out a frustrated grunt while he tried to find a way out of his predicament.

"See ya!" Larxene called out to Aqua, who dodged Larxene's strike to the ground, which upon impact sent out several pillars of electricity. With little time for Aqua to recover, Larxene jumped back up in a summersault and tossed electric daggers in all directions. Aqua dodged some, and deflected others, but a few managed to strike her, shocking and injuring her.

"Live dangerously, Terra!" Luxord called out, while Terra tried more patiently before determining which card the conman was hiding within. Terra tried one more card, again, empty. "Wrong! Over here!" And Luxord struck at Terra, before stating, "Let's try again!" and more cards surrounded Terra. "Oh, to hell with this!" Terra screamed, and summoned meteors from the sky to destroy all the cards quickly. Finally, the one revealing Luxord was revealed, "Hmph, well played" the conman grinned, and Terra rushed him and did not let up on all the strikes he dealt the cardplayer. Terra stopped pounding only when he noticed blood on his keyblade, and looked down to see Luxord beaten to a pulp, several of his limbs broken.

Terra lowered his keyblade and stepped back, realizing how violent he had gotten. Luxord managed a laugh before saying, "It appears this was not my type of game after all" then winced at the pain before continuing, "Know this, Keyblade wielder Terra, if you want to ensure you've defeated your foes permanently, do not let up like you nearly did just now, or your victory will be short-lived." Terra looked away with a grunt, while Luxord disappeared into darkness.

Aqua has now been firing off Thundaga spells at Larxene, who hasn't been trying to dodge them since, "You DO know that lightning is kinda my thing, right?!" she screamed at Aqua, before she took an opening and charged at her. Aqua blocked her attack, and the two were locked in place, then Aqua replied, "Yes, I know". Larxene looked at her, puzzled, then saw Aqua assume the Thunder Bolt command style, covering her body in lightning which increased the speed of her attacks as well as enhancing her lightning spells. Aqua then pushed Larxene back, "Now, now only can you not hurt me as much, but I can just beat you senseless!" Larxene gritted her teeth, and threw as many lightning daggers as she could at Aqua.

The sapphire Keyblade wielder casually deflected Larxene's daggers, and when Larxene tried digging her cloack for more, Aqua took the opportunity to finish the command style by summoning a ball of light above her and throwing her keyblade into it. This then caused multiple bolts of lightning to come out of the energy ball, and strike all across the arena. The bolts were powerful enough that even Larxene had to deflect a few. Aqua took this chance to charge Larxene and take her out bear-handed. Aqua punched and kicked Larxene until she couldn't stand anymore, then Aqua held off on her attacks.

Larxene spat blood out while trying to remain standing, "Are you kidding?" before falling down to her knees. Aqua uttered, "You're gonna be recompleted, which I'm starting to think is more than you deserve." Larxene faced Aqua, blood dripping from her mouth, "Ugh, I lost! To a bunch of losers like you!" Aqua just stared at her, with a serious but condescending stare, then Larxene continued, "But… could be worse… become that geezer's heart tank? No thanks." Aqua felt compelled to ask, "Then why help him? You know as well as I do what kind of man he is!" But Larxene pouted and turned away, "I was really just along for the ride." Aqua was confused now, "Along the ride for who?" Larxene then turned back towards Aqua again, and with a hushing motion and a grin, she said, "My secret", then vanished.

With their battle done, Aqua let out a long exhale, and nearly stumbled to the ground if it wasn't for Terra, who caught her from behind. This startled Aqua, who then stood straight again, her face blushing, "Terra! Um.. I was just…." Terra chuckled, "Hm, I know." The two held a gaze for a moment, before Terra then suggested, "We should move on now, Master Xehanort will probably benefit from this, regardless which side wins, so we need to beat him before he can benefit from the battle." He proceeded to leave before Aqua grabbed his arm, "Terra, wait!" Terra stopped and turned to her, her hand still on his arm. Then she tried to speak, "You….. it was nice fighting with you again…." Terra then turned to face her completely, now grabbing her hand, and responded, "It was nice fighting with you too." And the two gave another long look at each other.

Ω

Roxas was fighting with Marluxia, while Archer dealt with Demyx, and Axel was trying to reach his friend Siax.

Marluxia throws his scythe at Roxas, who avoids it by running away and dodging it as it spirals across the floor. The scythe then returns to Marluxia, who taunts Roxas, "Why am I not surprised to see that you are once again fighting against us? Still the rebellious sort, one who does not stay in his place…. You would've fit well in my Organization." Roxas was breathing hard, "I was DONE being used by everyone! You guys thought you could control me, keep me in the dark, and assumed I'd just go along with it?!" Then Roxas charged at Marluxie, and managed to push him through the wall and into another arena.

Axel looked back and cried out, "Roxas!" But Saix didn't give him the chance to act so recklessly, and grabbed him and threw him through a maze wall as well, and into another arena. With only Archer and Demyx in the arena they started in, the three pairs were now entirely separated.

"You should've known better than to turn your back on me, old friend!" Saix hissed at Axel, before kicking him across the ground. Axel then swooped and twirled his way back on his feet, now somewhat dirty from the pummeling Saix gave him. "Stop it, Isa!" Axel pleaded, "They others may be a lost cause, but you can still come back!" "Says the person who still calls himself Axel" Saix retorted, "and you honestly think you get to lecture me on abandoning my second chance with the organization?!" Then Saix summoned his massive sword and attempted to pummel Axel some more, but Axel managed to hold his own and block Saix's attack, and push him back.

"I chose to keep using Axel because I don't deserve to be called Lea anymore! After all that I've done, I have redeemed myself yet to go back to that name… but you… you'll always be Isa to me, I've got that memorized." "Hmph" Saix scoffed, "you always seemed to remember the things that mattered the least." And the two resumed their fight.

Roxas and Marluxia appeared to be equal in the skill of close-quarters combat, with the two unable to best the other. Roxas realized that Marluxia didn't lead the treacherous faction of the Organization for nothing, and then decided to go all-out reckless. He closed his eyes, and tried to summon a second Keyblade. Marluxia stared at him humorously, then decided to cut him down while the young fool wasn't looking. But Roxas managed to summon a second Keyblade, and then using both blades, caught Marluxia's scythe before it could pierce Roxas's face. "What?! How?!" Marluxia wailed at the site of Roxas's dual-wielding. "A keyblade wielder has never been able to utilize more than one keyblade at a time, except under the special circumstances of borrowing another's heart!"

"And that's what I did for over 10 years" Roxas said calmly, before shoving Marluxia back several feet. Roxas then clanged his keyblades together, turning them into the Oathkeeper and Oblivion keyblades. "In the 10 years I slept, Sora generously allowed me to sleep inside his heart while my body rested. In return, I gave Sora the ability to use the keyblade. Because of the bond we shared, our hearts are connected even now!"

And Roxas swooped up and came crashing down, firing off countless pillars of light across the whole arena. Marluxia blocked off one of the pillars of light with great strain, but was pushed back into a wall in the process. He saw Roxas coming after him, so he threw his scythe to Roxas to slow him down. Roxas instead moved around the scythe, and kept coming at Marluxia. But Marluxia then motioned his hand, and the scythe came spinning back, forcing Roxas to deflect it with one of his keyblades. During this moment, Marluxia then charged at Roxas, who then blocked Marluxia's punch with his other keyblade. With the two still in mid-air, Roxas spinned around to knock back Marluxia and his scythe.

Then the two stood and faced each other one last time, with Marluxia summoning his scythe back to him, and then pointed it at Roxas. Roxas then got in his typical battle stance, and the two charged at each other. After a brief moment of the two meeting and striking at each other, the two then ended up on the other side of the arena they started on, having run past each other. The two then stood, backs facing each other, and after another moment, Marluxia dropped his scythe and fell to his knees. Then Roxas turned back and faced the fallen coup leader and approached him.

Marluxia sees himself starting to disappear, "Oh, so _now_ it all comes back to me" and lets out a genuine laugh. Roxas, surprised, calls out to Marluxia, "Wait, was that a real laugh?" Marluxia looked up and faced Roxas, "Yes… My heart is remembering how to feel" and placed his hand on his chest. Roxas let out a scoff, "Hm, couldn't have bothered to remember this earlier? Would've saved us all the trouble." "Yes" Marluxia laughed again, "if I knew all it took was a keyblade wielder to beat me senseless, I suppose it _would_ have saved us all the trouble." Roxas couldn't help but laugh a little with him. Then Marluxia continued, "And now, I am on the cusp of reclaiming my identity, my purpose for being. In the end, you performed your duty to me after all….thank you, Roxas…." And he disappeared. Roxas closed his eyes, and responded, "Your welcome…."

Elsewhere, Axel and Saix have now bruised and cut each other a lot, with bloody scratches all over their bodies. The two are too tired to continue, but Saix sees the sadness in Axel's eyes, "Why… so sad?" Breathing heavily, Axel tries to walk towards him, "You let them reduce you to _this_?" But Saix ignored his question and commented, "I thought… you outgrew the marks under your eyes." Axel was taken aback by Saix's comment, and touched the lower portion of his eyes, "So?" Saix continued, "you look… like you need them…" But Axel wasn't buying this sympathy act, at least, he wasn't sure if he wanted to, "Stop it, the whole act! I thought this was all for her. She was the reason we snuck into Ansem's study, because we always heard the screams coming from the lab. When we realized we couldn't help her that way, we took it upon ourselves to become his students, so that we'd have inside knowledge and use it to save her! That's the only reason I could think of on why you _might_ have gone back, but now? I don't know! Why did you go back to them? Was it for her?!"

Saix was slow to respond, "At first… I sacrificed everything to track her down. _You're_ the one who went off and made other friends. Left her and me both in the dust. It infuriated me how you just exited our lives." Then he grunted in pain and dropped his weapon. By now, Axel could see he wasn't putting on an act, and dropped his keyblade to rush to his dying friend. But Saix motioned his hand to stop Axel from moving any closer, and continued, "I lost… all sense of purpose…" Axel replied, "But I didn't forget you!" Saix looked up at him, smiling because of the words he chose, "Yes…. I know… you wouldn't do that. But… I was jealous"

Axel gasped, "You admit it?" and managed a smile. Saix, coughing up more, tried to lighten up the mood one last time, "Well, if I make it back…you won't get it out of me a second time." We was about to fall down, but Axel rushed in and caught him. Then Axel repositioned Saix so that his head is resting on Axel's knee, and facing him. Axel looked at his friend once more, "See you, Isa" Before he disappeared, Saix responded, "See you, Lea" and he departed from his friend again. Axel followed the trails of black essence leave his body, and vanish into the sky. Then he took a deep breath, and got up and made his way back to his other friends.

Archer and Demyx just stood there, looking at each other. "So…" Demyx said, trying to break the awkward silence, "DO _we_ have any reason to fight each other?"

"Not particularly" Archer responded dryly. "But I clearly can't just let you go, no matter how low-tier of an Organization member you may be."

"LOW tier?" Demyx took offence at that, "Look, man! I might be a player, not a fighter, but you shouldn't diss on my skills just because-" Archer interrupted him by firing an arrow right past his face, and Demyx shrieked as the arrow blow a massive hole in the wall. "Dude!? What gives!? You out to kill me or something?!" But Archer just stood there, preparing another arrow. "Fine" admitted Demyx, "I see how it's gonna be, but you know what? I'm in a giving mood, so I'm gonna show a treat, and whip up one of my best numbers!"

"I doubt you play the genre I'm into" Archer responded. "Let's see then" Demyx responded with a grin, then yelled out, "DANCE, WATER, DANCE!" and water clones of himself started spawning all over the arena. Archer tried shooting them one by one, but more and more kept spawning. Archer then transformed his bow into a automatic crossbow, and fired off more shots. But still, more water clones kept spawning than Archer could deal with. "How irritating" Archer grumbled.

"Haha! You like it?!" Demyx laughs and fires off water bubbles at Archer, who dodges them but runs into the water clones. Switching to his blades, he proceeds to cut down as many as he can, but finds himself quickly overwhelmed. "The chicks are always thirsty for me, baby!" Demyx cried out, but Archer has had enough of these clones, and switches to another bow-type weapon. "Oh? Another bow?" Demyx scoffed, "Because the last one worked SO well for you?!"

"This bow is a replica of Tauropolos, a bow blessed by the god Artemis." Replied Archer, while loading up the bow with a massive magical blue arrow. Demyx looked at him in a comical fashion, "Am I supposed to know or care about any of that." But Archer smirked, "Not for much longer." Then, pointing the bow and arrows skyward, Archer uttered "Phoebus Catastrophe" and fired the arrow skyward. Demyx watched the arrow go straight up, then explode in a brilliant light. Then a torrent of arrows hailed down and destroyed all the water clones, while Archer stood by and watched Demyx making a comical shocked face.

"Grrr!" growled Demyx, who was now getting serious. "Fine then! Impatient, are we? Then I'll bring on the main course!" As he prepared to summon more water clones, Archer decided to dash to him before he could do so, since he was more than over the clones. But Demyx expected him to come and instead summoned pillars of water to form a wall between him and Archer. "Nuh-uh-uh!" teased Demyx, "Come on, keep to the beat!" Then the pillars of water started moving towards Archer, forcing him to jump back. He tried firing arrows at them, but they proved to be quite powerful.

"Alright then" prepared Demyx, "Time to start the world tour!" And with that, he started jamming on his sitar, and a group of water clones formed up behind him. Archer looked toward Demyx, and saw that he mad a band of water clones, each with their own instruments, and as they all started playing to Demyx's beat, the arena was engulfed in a massive whirlpool. Archer was now surrounded on all sides with swirling water, while Demyx and his water band were on the other end, protected by pillars of water and jamming to his beat.

"Got you now!" Demyx claimed, and started playing harder, shooting bubbles and pillars of water at Archer, who did his best to avoid all of them, as that was all he could do. "Water! Yeah!" screamed Demyx while bobbing his head. When Archer could dodge the attacks, he summoned barriers, "Rho Aias!" which not only protected him from the water attacks, but enabled him to remain in his current position in the air instead of being pushed back to the edge of the whirlpool and be shredded by the sheer force of water.

"Whoo yeah, baby!" Demyx was having the time of his life now, "Ain't it a blast?!" As he kept jamming to his own toon, Archer tried to conserve his magical energy, since he couldn't keep using a powerful barrier spell like Rho Aias. He landed back down on the ground and avoided some more water bubbles and pillars. Then he then decided to copy Demyx's sitar, hoping he could cancel out Demyx's attacks. "Trace on!" and summoned his own sitar.

"Whoa, dude!" Demyx screamed with displeasure, "I'm gonna totally sue your ass!" "Your music is shit" replied Archer. His blunt comment caught the sitarist off guard, and Archer fired his replica sitar through his bow and towards Demyx and his band. Archer's sitar exploded in a massive force of water, nullifying Demyx's pillars and his band. Drenched, Demyx looked around to see how vulnerable he was to attack, and saw Archer pouncing on him with his swords. Demyx gave a comical look, "Oh…fu-" and Archer ran past him, cutting him multlple times as he did so. "Aww, blew it again" Demyx uttered, then he fell to the ground, his body disappearing into dark essence before it reached the ground, and the massive whirlpool was deactivated, drenching Archer, and the rest of the arena in water.

Archer wiped the water from his face, opened his eyes, and let out a sigh of relief. Roxas and Axel finally made their way back to him, and saw how wet the place had gotten. The two walked up to Emiiya, trying not to laugh at how he looked. Axel then managed to ask "Uhh… did we miss something?" Archer looked at him with contempt and replied, "Nope, nothing at all…"

Ω

Elsewhere, as the warriors of light and darkness fought, Master Xehanort and Merlin stand at the peak and look upon the battle below.

"You should be proud of the accomplishments of your pawns, wizard" Xehanort said provokingly, "after making it this far, and giving my own a run for their money, even I must say I'm a little impressed."

Merlin looked at the old keyblade master with decadence, "You keep calling them pawns, I take you've never had actual friends before, have you? Any family, relatives, or anyone you ever genuinely trusted?"

Xehanort leered at Merlin, raising an eyebrow, "Are you really trying to analyze me, Merlin? Here, at the end of the old age, and the beginning of a new on, you seek to try and understand me?"

Merlin then looked away, out into the distance, noticing how much ground his troops have covered since landing here, "For some people, it helps to understand their enemy's true motives, their logic and rationale, all to make sure we can avoid this again in the future. You seek to learn the truth of the Keyblade War, fine, but why do so by provoking another one? Why obtain the power of Kingdom Hearts and start everything over again? Why cast yourself as a villain who manipulates and discards others, only to project your own imperfections on the rest of us?"

Xehanort's face starting turning serious, "You speak to me as if you're above me, wizard. I don't know you personally, but I know of you. You guide others on their path, neglecting to tell them the tragedies that lie at the end of the path. Then you exiled yourself instead of facing those you've lied to. You weren't even a Keyblade Wielder until recently, yet here you stand, leading the fight as if you've done so since the beginning, and you hold that blade there as if you've earned it! I've studied the ways of the Keyblade long before you finally decided to get directly involved with my affairs."

Merlin, sensing he struck a nerve, stares back at Xehanort and lets out a chuckle, "Hmm, well I've lived A LOT longer than you have, even if you take into account your time travel and body-swapping. I was one of the first to train Sora before Yen Sid graciously took over." Merlin's face ached a little at the utter of his friend's name, Xehanort noticed this, and smirked. Merlin continued, "I was able to discern the inconsistences of our current records of the past without terrorizing worlds and baiting others into your misguided crusade."

"Ah yes, but how much progress have you made, really?" Xehanort retorted, "You judge my methods, but they are the fastest and most direct way to reach the truth! Whoever made it their mission to conceal the past from future generations made it practically impossible for truth-seekers without risking corruption and death. I only appear to revel in it because I'm not foolish enough to rely on others. I do not let my emotions get the better me, hence why I'm the one most suitable to wield the power of Kingdom Hearts, and restart the universe! You asked me if I trusted anyone? No, I never have, not since the day two keyblade wielders first came to my home on the islands, and cast their judgment on me."

Merlin cocked his head, curious to hear more of Xehanort's statement, and Xehanort continued, "Before I was taken in by the order, before I met Eraqus, the first time I was exposed to the nature of the Keyblade when two men arrived one day while I was alone on Destiny Islands. I don't know if they were looking for me specifically, or if they were merely travelling worlds, but when one of them looked at me, there was such disdain in his eyes, like he knew me, or knew what I'd become. He would've struck me down right then and there if it wasn't for his companion. The companion also looked at me with certain distaste, but also gave off a sense that I was a necessity to the worlds beyond. But it was the first Keyblade Wielder's final comment towards me, that I would never understand others, would never connect with others, that confirmed what I had already knew about myself. I was never able to make friends in my youth, my appearance and aura seemed to frighten others away. No one else peaked my interest, hence why I would spend time alone on the islands as often as I could. I knew I could not fulfill my ambitions alone, but I did not need 'friends' to do that, merely pawns.

The only two people you could say I had ever gotten close to was Eraqus, who was my peer; and the one who I took on as my first apprentice."

Merlin squinted at Xehanort, as if to confirm something, "Eraqus really meant something to you?"

"He was the only one who did not look at me with judgement, in fact, I seemed to fascinate him, or at the very least amuse him. We'd even play competitive games together, which also served as ways to compare our philosophies on life. He was a naïve kid, and continued to be so even as a man, but I must say that I myself was amused by him. He was the first person I could speak freely and honestly to, without fear of judgement and disdain.

The only other person I was able to do that with was my apprentice."

Merlin tried again to confirm, "Your apprentice before Ventus?"

"Indeed" Xehanort responded, "I had taken on less pupils than most other masters, as I had particular tastes, and a certain social issue, but Victor…. He was unlike anyone I had ever met before. He had the makings of a true scientist and scholar in him, someone who was in it for the knowledge, regardless of the means, as long as the ends were worth it! Like me, he cared little for others, well, all but his parents and his lover I suppose, but even then, he had cast them aside for the pursuit of knowledge. When he told me of his personal upbringing, he confirmed even more how alike we were!

He had already dabbled in some science and magic, though far more than one would expect at his age. But under me, once I opened the doors of possibility for him, that was when he truly surprised me! Victor went far beyond the basic educational requirements of Keyblade Wielders, he learned all manner of magic: mental, elemental, and the arcade; as well as all manners of science: biology, physics, chemistry, astrology, astronomy, geology, you name it! There was no limit to what Victor wanted to absorb, he had to have it all!

When he was old enough, I told him about my plans to learn the truth of the Keyblade War, and of course, he agreed, as there were too many holes in the information that was taught to students, and too much contradiction. But like you, he wanted to be less direct, less provocative, at least until he felt he was more prepared. He took a more indirect approach, relying on the historical recordings provided by other worlds to piece together the past, where as I wanted to perform the forbidden arts already under our command to get right at the source. That was were we disagreed, but there was a sense of mutual respect in our methods. But I was running out of time, not all of us are immortal like you, Merlin. Despite my own formidable time-manipulation abilities, I suppose I was even less patient than Victor, and after he had told me of mind transfer, it was then when I looked into means to preserve my life, and I took it a step further than him: the transfer of the heart. My preserving my abilities and transferring it into another, I would gain new life, as well as all the knowledge and abilities gain from the host I sought to control! And with Victor as my host, I would benefit even more from his versatile and polymathic genius!

But alas, he was onto me. As I became older and more impatient, he correctly deduced my plans to possess him, and of course, he too claimed he had ambitions of his own, and that he no longer needed me. Hehehe….I was almost proud of him for that, he really knew how to live a cautious life, and to use others only until their usefulness had ceased. But I did not intend to let a goldmine like him escape from my grasp, I would fight him if I had to, and fight we did. He won in the end, but he was not strong enough to deal the finishing blow, not because he was weak-minded, but only because he himself was worn out to risk it, though he claims he let me live for other reasons.

He disappeared, and despite my best efforts, I was never able to find him again, and so, I was forced to start over. I knew I would never acquire someone like him again, but at my age, it didn't matter, I had enough information to know where to look and how to proceed, I just needed someone to help me begin my plans. Ventus was the unlucky boy I set my eyes on, though I underestimated how little skill he had, so I had to extract the darkness from his heart to make a better apprentice, and then discard him, but then he showed he could in fact wield the keyblade, so I let him live, I gave him to Eraqus, and allowed him the opportunity to blossom and prove that he still had some worth."

Xehanort then took a long pause, breathing in slowly and deeply, as thunderclouds began to form around them, obscuring the land below from view. Then he finished his monologue, "The keyblade is a power that relies on emotion, or rather the control of one's emotions. Hence why I am one of the few who could use its full power, and why others always fall prey to darkness. I can control it, where as others are consumed by it. An outsider like you would not understand the nature of the Keyblade, let alone my motives."

But Merlin smirked, "Like I said, I've studied magic and swordplay long before you were unfortunate enough to be born. A keyblade just combines the basics of the two, so I've got a head-start over others."

Xehanort then gritted his teeth, "The basics, you say?" Then drew his Keyblade. Merlin summoned his own, and the two got into their battle stances. Then Xehanort said "Then let me show you just how BASIC this power is!" And the two clashed, the clang of their swords caused a powerful shockwave that cracked the mountain they stood on. The two traded more blows with their swords, neither of them overpowering the other. Then the two jumped back and relied on magic, with Xehanort hurling dark energy balls at his foe, while Merlin hurled balls of light. Their spells cancelled each other out in brilliant explosions of light and darkness.

Xehanort then shot a Blizzega spell at Merlin, who deflect it with his Keyblade. Merlin fired off a Thundaga spell, but Xehanort protected himself with Reflega. Then Xehanort waved his hand and summoned a swarm of Keyblades to fly and strike at Merlin, but Merlin opened a portal just before the keyblades swarm had struck him, then opened another portal beside him that sent the keyblades back towards Xehanort, who flung away the swarm with a swing of his own keyblade.

"Heh, not bad, wizard" Xehanort taunted, then teleported out of site, and then immediately teleported behind Merlin, attempted to freeze the wizard with his hand. But Merlin turned around and smacked Xehanort's hand with his staff, and then used his other hand to strike Xehanort with his Keyblade, but Xehanort blocked the attack with his own keyblade. The two struggled in place, staring into each other's eyes, before jumping back again.

Merlin and Xehanort both smiled at each other, then Xehanort said, "Ah, I haven't had this much fun in a long time. You may change my mind of you yet, wizard!" Then the two resumed their battle.

Ω

Sora, Kairi, and Riku faced the three younger aspects of Xehanort: Ansem (the heartless), Xemnas (the nobody), and young Xehanort. It was young Xehanort who spoke first, "The thirteen darknessess and seven lights have clashed nine times, yielding nine keys." He summoned 9 keys similar to the The Gazing Eye, before de-summoning them.

Xehanort's heartless spoke next, "We are four short, but those four keys will be produced here and now." Sora responded to the villain who first put him on the path he now is close to finishing, "Yeah, sure. And what makes you think there'd ever be any way we'd help you with that?"

Xemnas spoke next, "You forget that we planned for every eventuality. There are three pairs of us here, while our original fights the wizard above us."

Then it was Riku who spoke, "Even if you summon Kingdom Hearts, we will defeat you!"

Kairi spoke last, "And we will close it again!"

But Xemnas smiled, "Perhaps, that is… if you survive that long."

Then, the six rushed at each other, and began their battle.

Riku fought Xehanort's heartless, Sora fought Xemnas, and Kairi fought Young Xehanort.

Riku dodged Heartless-Xehanort's energy beams as he fired upon the boy while levitating in the air. Then Riku reached Xehanort to strike him, but Xehanort blocked with his hand, "It seems even now, you are drawn to me, Riku. In a way, I am the true architect of your destiny!" Riku grunted, "I find that hard to believe!" Then Riku backed away from Xehanort, who remained floating in the air, and spoke, "Ah, but if it wasn't for my true self's plans, Terra wouldn't have travelled to your world. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have realized your destiny, or your potential! And, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have discovered _him_" he pointed behind Riku, who turned and saw Dark Riku from his past, walking towards him, smiling, and with the Soul Eater Keyblade in hand.

Riku grunted in frustration, "I conquered you!" But Dark Riku smiled, "As far as I'm concerned, not yet, you didn't!" Riku felt inside himself, and sensed the Dark Riku that he managed to get control over, then turned back to Heartless-Xehanort, "You won't trick me again, Xehanort!" But the fake Ansem replied with a grin, "Ah, but this is no trick."

Dark Riku struck Riku in the back, injuring him. Riku swung backwards, but missed, then Heartless-Xehanort fired red energy beams on Riku, injuring him further. Then Riku yelled in frustration, fired blindly at Heartless-Xehanort as cover fire, causing Xehanort to move back slightly, then Riku went for Dark Riku, and the two clashed. Heartless-Xehanort looked on at the two Rikus with a sadistic pleasure.

Kairi fought with Young Xehanort, who tried to toy with the girl by firing spells in all directions, watching as she tried to deflecting them with great effort, then tried to rush to her with a surprise attack while she was busy with the spells. But Kairi reacted in time with a counter, catching Young Xehanort off guard. She then activated Thundaga to deal damage to him as well as neutralize the other spells surrounding her. Young Xehanort shrugged off her attack, and remarked, "I must say, you impress me girl, but only slightly."

Kairi smirked at him, "After training with Merlin and Archer, both of whom taught me to deal with multiple attacks at once, and after training with Axel, who taught me to fight dirty, I think you'd do better than to underestimate me." Young Xehanort didn't know to keep smiling, or frown in her arrogance, but decided to keep smiling and rushed at her again.

This time using only his keyblade, he overwhelmed her with combos of swings and jabs, forcing Kairi on the defensive. As he stepped forward and attacked relentlessly, Kairi stepped backwards, trying to keep up with the man's furious onslaught. Kairi then noticed that he was backing her to the edge of the arena, which unlike the other arenas, was raised high above the ground. Once they reached the edge, Young Xehanort struck her with enough force that she fell to the ground, the two's keyblades locked in a struggle, with Kairi using both her hands to fend off Xehanort's single-handed swing. The young time traveler then grinned at the pinned girl, and asked, "What was it you said about not underestimating you?"

Then Kairi moved her head to the side, and de-summoned her Keyblade, allowing Xehanort's blade to cut the ground beside her head. Kairi then quickly re-summoned her Keyblade and struck Young Xehanort's side, injuring him gravely. The young time-traveller gushed blood from his mouth, then Kairi kicked him back with impressive force, nearly causing him to trip over and fall down. Kairi jumped back up, and resumed her battle stance. Young Xehanort wiped the blood from his mouth and cursed Kairi, "You bitch!" Kairi swung her keyblade in a provocative manner, then Young Xehanort struggled to regain his composure, and said, "But, impressive nonetheless."

Sora was deflecting Xemnas's ethereal blades, which he summoned all around Sora. When Sora got hit by a few, and realized he couldn't deflect them all, he used Reflega to wait out the rest, then dashed towards Xemnas to prevent him to summon more, but Xemnas had two red blades coming out of his hands, and blocked Sora's attack.

"You say your friends are your power" Xemnas bellowed with his deep voice "You then admit that you are nothing without others, why then do you fight me, when my end goal seeks to make everyone whole again?" Sora responded while grunting, "It's true, my friends are my power! But I don't leech off of them like you do. My strength now comes from all the bonds I've made over the years, and in return I fight to protect them!" Sora then pushes Xemnas back, who quickly recovers and enters a stance, then Sora continued, "I'm already whole. Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, all of them, they are what complete me!"

Xemnas then stroked his chin with his free hand, "So then, it appears it wasn't an exaggeration to call you the Key that Connects All. Then all I need do is break your bonds, one link at a time, to bring you to your knees." He then fired off one ethereal blade at Kairi, and another at Riku, causing the two to fall down, while their opponents smile at their misfortune, and proceed to take advantage by pummeling them, keeping them down on the ground.

Sora looked at both his friends and yelled, "Stop it! Fight me, not them!" Xemnas responded, "It will take more than naïve talk to defeat me, Sora. Only when you conquer your weakness, when you decide to fully embrace yourself, including the darkness in your heart, will you then be able to defeat any foe that comes your way!" He fired off a few more blades to Riku and Kairi out of spite, and an enraged Sora pounced toward him. Xemnas blocked his attack, smiling at him, while leaving Kairi and Riku in difficult positions.

Young Xehanort continued to bear down on Kairi, and said "I believe you also said something about fighting dirty?" Kairi struggled to hold her own.

Riku was pinned down by Dark Riku, while Heartless-Xehanort stood behind him, preparing to shoot another energy beam. "And here I almost thought we were evenly matched" Dark Riku boasted, "but I guess not!" Dark Riku kept Riku pinned, so that he was unable to defend from Heartless-Xehanort's attack, then a large arrow struck Dark Riku, knocking him back towards Heartless-Xehanort. Riku grunted in surprise. Another arrow was fired at Young Xehanort, who's keyblade was knocked out of his hand, forcing him to step back before Kairi cut him down again. One more arrow was shot towards Xemnas, but was purposefully fired at enough of a distance to startle him. Then they all looked at the direction the arrows came from, and saw Archer in the distance, on top of one of the maze walls. Satisfied, he said, "There, that'll even the field now."

Frustrated, the three Xehanorts focused back on the kids. Heartless-Xehanort pushed Dark Riku aside, who began to disappear. Riku looked at Dark Riku and said, "I already conquered you, you don't belong here anyway." Then Dark Riku disappeared with an angry expression on his face. Riku then faced Heartless-Xehanort and said, "Now, where were we?" "Do not get cocky, boy!" Heartless-Xehanort said with hurt pride, "You still have darkness in your heart, enough for me to exploit at my leisure!" Riku provoked him, "Go ahead and try, then."

Heartless Xehanort fired an energy beam at Riku, who jumped up and struck down on Xehanort. The false Ansem teleported away, then reappeared behind Riku and smacked him hard on the head, causing Riku to fall down hard on the ground and make a small crater. Heartless-Xehanort then fired off more beams at Riku, who managed to recover quickly by rolling and jumping out of place. When Riku jumped out of the crater, he pointed his blade at Heartless-Xehanort and activated his shot-lock command. Before he had time to finish the lock-command, Heartless Xehanort conjured a red energy ball and threw it at Riku. Expecting him to take advantage of an opening like this, Riku instead used the command and zipped towards Xehanort, and unleashed a combo of strikes and jabs, severely injuring the false Ansem. Then Riku finished off with a sonic-blade combo, and finally finished the man who orchestrated his destiny with one final swing, ending up behind Xehanort with his head down and his blade in the air.

Heartless-Xehanort heaves and gasps as the damage to his body takes its toll, causing him to disappear. As he began to fade, Riku called out to him, "Ansem." Xehanort turns and faced Riku, and only now appreciates the growth that his greatest pawn has undergone, and answered, "What.. a journey you and I have had…" Riku reminisced as he spoke, "You know, it's strange. Part of me is thankful of you. You did show me the darkness, so that I could overcome it. You gave me the strength I needed to help my friends." Heartless-Xehanort felt compelled to agree with the boy, "Your strength is vaster than darkness. I now know that I never stood a chance. Part of me wanted to defy my fate…. But when the others betrayed us, I found I did not care. And then, nothing else seemed to matter anymore."

Riku started to feel a strange sense of pity for him, as he started to see him as what would have happened if Sora had not been there to bring Riku back from the darkness. Heartless-Xehanort noticed Riku's stare of pity and snapped, "What? Isn't it time you moved on, boy? There is more to seek… so go forth for now, and seek it…" and then, the false Ansem finally vanished. Riku took a deep breath, as if a massive weight had been lifted, and sighed.

Kairi was now on equal footing with Young Xehanort. The two swung at each other, their keyblades clashing and sparking with every encounter. Young Xehanort then summoned energy balls all around them, and the balls fired off beams towards Kairi. She dodged a few, then deflected some more, but then activated Reflega when she became overwhelmed. When her spell finished, Young Xehanort swung his Keyblade down on her, but she rolled out of the way. Still on the ground, she threw her keyblade at Young Xehanort, who casted it aside with a swing of his own keyblade. Kairi quickly resummoned her keyblade and threw it again, and again Young Xehanort cast it aside. Kairi summoned it a third time and appeared to throw it again, with Young Xehanort now prepared to catch her Keyblade instead. But Kairi did nothing and smirked, with started the young time traveler. Then it began to glow beneath where Young Xehanort stood, and he saw that Kairi had activated the Mine Square spell, one directly underneath him, and two more where he deflected her keyblade. Kairi snapped her fingers and the mines exploded, tossing Young Xehanort in the air. Kairi activated her shot-lock command and fired off the spell Prism Rain, launching multi-colored energy projectiles from her Keyblade and hurled them towards Young Xehanort, who was helpless in the air and took every single one of the projectiles.

Finally, his body fell back to the ground, as Kairi rose back up and stood above him. Young Xehanort let out a maniacal laugh. "Something funny?" Kairi asked. "I told Sora a while ago, there is a high price to pay for all of this." Kairi, keeping her calm, responded the provocation, "For you, maybe. As someone who travelled out of his own time and messed around, I can't imagine things looking to well for you." Young Xehanort stood up as he started to fade. "I need not worry, I'll go back to my time, and live out my life. You enjoy this small victory, but the boy you care for, he's done now. His journey ends here." Kairi started losing her composure, but tried to hold out against him, "Not unless we beat you up there. Then you'll just grow up and continue living a cycle of failure, over and over again." "Fool" the young time traveler began to utter out, "his time in this world is-" but vanished before he could finish his provocative line. Standing there alone now, Kairi hated to admit it, but his last words stung, despite losing to her.

Xemnas spun around in place, his blade strikes pushing Sora back. But Sora aerial-recovered and dove back towards Xemnas. The two swung their blades at each other, performing complex acrobatics as they tried to cut the other down, but their speed seemed equal. Still the two persisted to cut the other down, unsatisfied with whatever spell could turn the tide in either of their favor. Xemnas summersaulted with his blades, turning him into some kind of saw and hurled himself at Sora, who managed to defend against Xemna's violent maneuver. Xemnas then spun horizontally while his blades were held outward, and again rushed to Sora, who moved out of the way and ridirected the blades as Xemnas spun past him. As soon as Xemna's attack showed signs of ending, Sora dove to him and struck him while his back was still turned. Sora then hit Xemnas with 5-6 more swings of the keyblade, then ended his combo with an aeroga attack. While Xemnas was suspended in the wind vortex, Sora activated Square Mine. Once all the magical mines were summoned, Sora controlled the wind vortex to fly over each of them, Xemnas catching the full brunt of their explosions. As soon as the two spells finished, Sora ended the fight with one last Firaga spell, igniting Xemnas as he fell to the ground.

Now on fire, Xemnas began to fade, and looked at his body to see if he could feel the burns, but he felt nothing. While the Keyblade can cause nobodies to feel physical harm, Xemnas barely felt the heat of the flames, if at all. And he realized he didn't even feel disappointment, or sorrow at his loss. "Bested… yet again…" he uttered in a jaded voice.

As if he sensed Xemnas' dilemma of lacking emotions, Sora called out to him, "I know that you have a heart. What do you feel? What is worth it?" Xemnas looked up at Sora, and saw in the boy's eyes that he tried to reach the Nobody, and he could not help but find him curious. Then he answered Sora, "I feel…. the emptiness where my companions once stood. I took them for granted. And now I have… nothing. My first surge of emotion in years… for as long as I can remember… and it's…. loneliness. Do you see? A heart is just pain." Xemnas turned away from him as he accepts his fate.

Sora continued to call out to him, "Pain is being human, Xemnas." Then the Nobody turned his head slightly toward Sora, and when he got another look at the boy's eyes, still genuine in their effort to reach him, Xemnas, for the first time, gave a genuine smile. Not one of malice or boast during a fighit, but one of appreciation and admiration. "Really?" He responded for the last time, "It must take… incredible strength." And Xemnas was no more.

With a long sigh, Sora closed his eyes, absorbed the moment, and opened them again. His heart still beating fast, he stood there for a moment. Then he heard Riku and Kairi calling his name. He turned to his right and saw Kairi running to him, and to his left Riku. When they both reached him, Sora hugged Kairi, and extended a hand to Riku. "I always knew the three of us could handle it" Riku stated with pride. "I never knew how much I was able to do until the time came" Kairi said with a surprised tone. "I only regret I couldn't do this much earlier." "I always knew" Sora responded, which cheered Kairi up. "I've always known how strong you both were. Even though I didn't want to leave the island like you two did, I didn't want to be away from you either. At the time, I just hoped I could get strong enough in time to keep up with both of you and to be of use to you." Kairi caressed Sora's face, and the two hugged again. Riku looked at them both, happy that they finally got the courage to admit their feelings for each other.

Ω

Above them, Master Xehanort and Merlin fought like two Gods of opposing forces. Merlin proved himself to Xehanort, who no longer looked down on the wizard who only recently officially joined the ranks of Keyblade Wielders. But then Master Xehanort sensed the other battles concluded, and ceased fighting the white wizard.

Merlin looked at him with curiosity, but kept his guard up. Master Xehanort then motioned his hand and cleared away the clouds, as he wanted the survivors to see the source of their impending demise. The force of wind caused by his will was strong enough to be felt by everyone present. Then Sora, Kairi, and Riku looked up and saw Xehanort and Merlin. Xehanort then spoke aloud, "Twelve keys we have now." And Xehanort summoned the twelve keys behind him, six on either side, then resumed, "Leaving just one more!" As the three kids and Merlin grunted, Xehanort pointed his own Keyblade skyward and fired a beam through the clouds high above. Then those clouds parted as well, revealing Kingdom Hearts in all its glory. Sora and the rest looked on in despair, as Xehanort addressed the boy specifically, "Now, Sora. Darkness and light's final clash." He then looks around at the survivors with an ominous grin, "Who shall be the lucky finalist?" Merlin, not liking what Xehanort was up to, proceeded to put an end to Xehanort, but the old keyblade Master hurled his 12 keys at the wizard, and bound Merlin inside them. Merlin tried to teleport out, then break out, but found he could not do so. "What kind of power is this?" the wizard cried out desperately. Sensing he could not take the Merlin's heart without risking another prolonged fight, Xehanort went down to terrorize the young keyblade wielders. He went for Kairi, who failed to react in time, but Sora and Riku both jumped in and blocked Xehanort's blade.

With little effort, Xehanort shoved the two boys aside, with Sora landing on Kairi, and Riku off to the side. He then looked at the two helpless and exhausted warriors. "Shall it be you then?" He said, pointing at Sora, "or perhaps you?" and pointed at Riku. As the three tried to get up, he cast Thundaga, injuring and incapacitating them. Xehanort then walked towards Riku, saying "You were the first since Terra that I possessed, perhaps it'll be fitting if you are the one to provide the thirteenth Keyblade!" He swung his sword high over the helpless Riku, and then swung back down, only to be blocked not by one, but two blades.

Xehanort blinked and saw that Terra and Aqua had interrupted his blow, and managed to let out a laugh, "Hehehehe! So you two relics managed to be of some use after all?" Terra grunted, "Who are you calling a RELIC!" And pushed him back, not that Xehanort was trying to resist, as he floated back down to the ground. Terra and Aqua both walked towards him, with Terra yelling, "You have caused us nothing but pain after all this time! After what you did to Eraqus, to Aqua, to Ventus, and to everyone here, THIS IS WHERE YOU'LL END!" "I'd like to see you try" Xehanort boasted.

Terra and Aqua swung their keyblades, but Xehanort deflected them both one after the other with little effort. Terra swung his blade again, but Xehanort dodged. Aqua thrusted her keyblade, but Xehanort directed it with his own. Then she went for his foot, but he raised it, and shot at her with a dark energy ball from his hand. Terra then raised his keyblade over his head, and swung down on Xehanort, who effortlessly blocked it, then fired another dark energy ball at Terra, sending him back. Now five Keyblade wielders lay on the ground, and Xehanort felt spoiled at his choices. "Unless anyone else wants to join in on this raffle, I'll go ahead and choose one of-" but he sensed a projectile heading towards him with great speed, and turned to deflect it with his keyblade. It was Archer, and as he prepared another arrow, Xehanort cast Thundaga, forcing Archer to jump out of the way.

Before Xehanort could follow up with another attack, Mikey jumped onto the arena and rushed at Xehanort. The King had more skill than most other wielders, and was actually better than Merlin as far as swordplay, so Xehanort had to take Mickey seriously. The King jumped and spun around the old man, barely giving Xehanort an opportunity to pin him down with any attacks or spells. Xehanort was forced on the defensive until he decided to teleport to a safe distance, causing Mickey to miss an attack, disorienting him. When Mickey recovered, he saw Xehanort standing at the other side of the arena, and with a hand motion, summoned a swarm of keyblades that flew towards Mickey.

Mickey jumped and avoided every key that tried to strike him. "Hmm, you've got speed, I'll give you that" Xehanort observed, "but how much longer can you keep that up, little king?" With another hand motion, Xehanort summoned more and more keys, and Mickey saw that there was too many to safely avoid. Mickey then stood firm, held his Keyblade before him, and prepared for the onslaught. Xehanort smirked and unleashed the barrage of blades onto Mickey, who defiantly deflected as well as dodged as many as he could. Then one keyblade scratched him, but Mickey kept going. Then another keyblade got him, then another, and another, and Mickey's movements got slower. Eventually Mickey got hit by a salvo of blades, and fell to the ground unconscious. Then Xehanort walked towards the knocked-out King, "I knew Yen Sid a bit, he taught you well, little King. He would be proud if he could see you now."

From behind him, two voices cried out the King's name, "Mickey!" Xehanort groaned and turned, seeing Donald and Goofy prepared to fight for the King. Xehanort slowly turned to face the two, and Donald screeched, "ZETAFLARE" and a massive beam of energy erupted from Donald's staff, and fired toward's Xehanort, who let out a surprised look as the Duck displayed more power than expected. Xehanort shouted, "REFLEGA!" and withstood the attack, being pushed back in the process. Then the attack finished, Xehanort deactivated his barrier, and took notice at how far back the Duck's spell pushed him, and gave an acknowledging nod. Donald was clearly fatigued from the spell, and began to wobble in place. Xehanort shot Firaga at Donald, but Goofy stepped in front and blocked the attack. Xehanort casually fired few more Firagas just to see Goofy desperately defend Donald. When he reached Goofy, he casually swung his Keyblade upward, sending Goofy crashing into Donald, and knocked them both out.

Turning back to the arena, Xehanort sighed, "Now then, if that'll be all-" but then Archer fired another arrow at the man, causing Xehanort to grumble in pain. Deciding to finish him off personally, Xehanort teleport to Archer instead, catching the Archer slightly by surprise, and said to him, "You know, I'm really getting tired of you." "The feeling's mutual" Archer replied, and summoned his swords to block Archer's attack, which knocked him off the maze wall and down onto the ground.

Xehanort then jumped down to meet Archer, who got up and held his blades toward Xehanort. The old keyblade master laughed and asked, "Why are you here? I can understand the little King's subjects, but you're no keyblade wielder, and if I sensed it right, you don't even belong in this era, so what's your story?" Archer then stood straight and de-summoned his blades before answering, "I was summoned here by Merlin, he felt my abilities were appropriate for training the kids." Then he held his hands out towards Xehanort and said, "As for me not having a keyblade, Trace On!" Archer's spell traced Xehanort's keyblade, and then one appeared in Archer's hand. Seeing this slightly startled Xehanort, and Archer rushed toward him and attacked. Archer blocked the attack, but the force still caused a crater to form underneath Xehanort, which surprised him a little more. Archer then said again, "Trace On!" and traced another keyblade from the graveyard nearby, and in his other hand appeared another keyblade.

With Xehanort still below him, Archer swung as furiously as he could at the old man, burying him further into the crater. Xehanort was done playing with the archer, and cast Thundaga to get Archer to move out of the way. Jumping out of the crater, Xehanort then cast FIraga, then Blizzaga, then Waterga. Archer dodged the first two, than casted the barrier spell Rho Aias on the third since he didn't have time to avoid it. It was here that Xehanort smiled, his suspicions confirmed, and said, "Ah, so you can't actually use any Keyblade abilities. Your copies are impressive, but nonetheless hollow imitations."

He then motioned his hand and called upon another swarm of keyblades unto Archer, who dodged until he was forced up to the arena where the others were. Xehanort taunted Archer before continuing, "Running away now? Out of options, are you?" Archer was actually low on magic, but gritted his teeth and decided to meet Xehanort's taunt, "Trace On!" and copies of the keyblades from the swarm Xehanort made appeared behind them. Xehanort looked on, then laughed and said, "Ha! Fine then, let's see how they hold up!" and hurled his Keyblades at Archer, who in turned directed his replica keyblades at Xehanort. Their blades clashed in the air, and as Xehanort called upon more blades, Archer struggled to copy them. Eventually Xehanort had more blades than Archer, and he overwhelmed the archer with blades, the injuries knocking him out.

Xehanort gave out another long sigh, looked around, trying to see if anyone else was going to interrupt him. Then he looked up at Merlin, his face with anger and helplessness. Xehanort then looked down and decided to strike the first person he saw, which in this case, was Kairi. Sora, too weak to fend him off, held on to Kairi tightly, as they both held their keyblades helplessly before Xehanort. He then casually moved the blades aside, and said to them, "It'll go over a whole lot faster if you didn't resist." But he felt them resisting his blade. "No? Fine then"

But a fire pillar erupted between them, causing Xehanort to bend backward and move back. The fire pillar then vanished, "Ok, NOW who?!" Xehanort turned and saw Axel and Roxas standing before him. Xehanort looked at Axel, then at Roxas, and couldn't help but laugh maniacally, "HA HA HA ha ha ha haaa! Oh my, so we meet again after all this time, eh, my former apprentice?" he asked Roxas, who to him was Ventus. "I was always disappointed in you, you, who could never live up to the expectations of your predecessor, who couldn't even summon a keyblade until near-death, and couldn't even defend your friends back then."

"Hey, you leave him alone, you old bastard!" Axel yelled out. Xehanort then turned to Axel, having already forgotten he was there, as Axel continued, "You don't get to talk to him like that, you shouldn't even get to LOOK at him like that! This boy has gone through more trouble than he ever deserved, and part of it was my fault! If there's one thing I won't stand for, it's YOU speaking to him that way!"

Xehanort then looked back at Ventus (Roxas) and asked sarcastically, "Is that true? Have you really gone through so much? Did you actually experience pain and misery that might actually have made you grow some backbone?"

Roxas stared at his old master, remembering the abuse, both verbal and physical, that he endured from that man. This man would later manipulate him in another life, when the two both had become nobodies. "No matter where I go, no matter who's live I'm living, it seems you're always there to torture me" Roxas said, "You nearly killed me while trying to get me summon a Keyblade, but here I am. You nearly had me killed again when you got the X-blade, but here I am. You tried using me then discard me when we were in the Organization, but here I am." Tears started forming in Roxas's eyes, "After all this time, you've called me weak, failure, and disappointment, but here I am now, Master!"

Xehanort smiled at him and said, "Indeed you are. Now, let's see how strong you've become!" He teleported to Roxas and swung his Keyblade at him. Roxas blocked Xehanort's attack but was pushed back. Axel then swung at Xehanort, but the old man straightened up and casually avoided the attack, then punched Axel in the face with his free hand, knocking him down. Xehanort prepared to fire a dark energy ball at Axel, but Roxas came back with a vengeance and swung both his Keyblades at Xehanort relentlessly. Xehanort blocked his attacks, smiling at Roxas, who's face was full of anger. Roxas then summoned pillars of light and swung down on Xehanort, who jumped back and avoided the light pillars. Then Xehanort rushed towards Roxas with another swing of his keyblade, but Roxas slid around Xehanort and lunged at him. Xehanort blocked Roxas's blades with his own, then proceeded to fire a dark energy ball, but Axel swung his blade hard on Xehanort's head, knocking the old man back. Xehanort wiped a drop of blood from his head, and looked back at the two boys, now standing side-by-side and ready to fight some more.

Xehanort wiped the blood drop from his hand, and allowed the two boys to rush at him. He dodged and blocked their keyblade strikes with little effort, despite their impressive speed. He teleported behind them and tried to strike Roxas, but Axel blocked the attack, allowing Roxas to retaliate. Xehanort blocked Roxas's blades with his free hand, but Roxas still managed to cut Xehanort's arm a bit, causing him to bleed again. Furious, Xehanort then grabbed Roxas by the neck and threw him around to the ground. Axel gasped and tried to attack Xehanort again, but Xehanort kneed Axel in the gut, and then kicked him back. Then Xehanort turned to Roxas, who was still on the ground, and swung his keyblade down on him. Roxas tried to block the attacks, but after enough blows, Xehanort knocked both of Roxas's keybades out of his hands, and then used the tip of his keyblade to slap Roxas across the face, and knock him down.

Roxas, now lying on the ground, panting and bleeding, opened his eyes and looked upon his old master, who held his blade up with both hands, ready to stab his former pupil. "Well well, you did get somewhat stronger, but more importantly, you might actually be of some use to me after all." Roxas, accepting his fate, despite realizing that Xehanort's condescending smile would be the last thing he'd see, closed his eyes. Xehanort then bore his keyblade down on the boy, and the sound of keyblade piercing flesh is heard.

Roxas opened his eyes, not feeling the blade pierce his body, and saw that Axel, who rushed to his aid, had taken the blade instead. Roxas looked on at his friend, horrified, trying to say his name. "A….Ax…" Axel then turned his head back toward Roxas, and said with a strain in his voice, "It seems….I finally….made it up to you…..buddy….." The tears in Roxas's eyes now came pouring down his face, then Then Xehanort pulled the keyblade from his body, and before Roxas could catch his friend in his arms, Axel disappeared into light, leaving Roxas empty and alone. The other gasped in horror.

Xehanort stood there to watch his former pupil, as Roxas clenched his fists and smashed the ground, wailing and yelling louder than he ever has. Finally, Xehanort said, "Hmm, you were useless after all. You couldn't even give me the pleasure of using you for my final keyblade." Roxas looked up at Xehanort with fury and vengeance, but Xehanort summoned his thirteenth keyblade from Axel's sacrifice, and used it to knock Roxas out. Then Xehanort floated back up to where Merlin was.

"It doesn't matter though" Xehanort continued, "Because now…the Keyblade War will finally reach its conclusion!" He called to him the other keyblades that held Merlin in place, and they all levitated around Xehanort. Expecting Merlin to attack, Xehanort surrounded himself with swarms upon swarms of other keyblades. Even if Merlin teleported in, he'd have to defend or avoid the blades that spiraled around Xehanort. Merlin then stood there in frustration, and prepared for whatever Xehanort had planned.

Xehanort then pointed his own keyblade toward Kingdom Hearts, and watched it transform into the powerful X-Blade of legend. The X-Blade was far larger than other keyblades. This blade had two Kingdom Keys crossing each other in an X fasion, their teeth pointed out, and shiny green wings coming off of them. Above where the two keys crossed, a glowing yellow blade of impressive length rose up, with a hollow point in the middle where another smaller blade erected underneath. The handle for the blade was where the two Kingdom Key handles met.

Xehanort breathed sigh of satisfaction, "Ahh, the X-blade is complete! Kingdom Hearts! I call upon your true form. Open now and show me the World to come." As the others looked on helplessly, Kingdom Hearts became enveloped in darkness. The sky darkened, and dark meteors fell off from where Kingdom Hearts loomed over the land.

Sora and Kairi held each other, Riku and the others looked on with awe, and Roxas looked back down in sorrow. Terra and Aqua looked at their friend in sorrow, and started to go to him. Then Merlin jumped down and landed beside Roxas, starting Terra and Aqua, but Roxas didn't seem to notice. Merlin then placed a hand on the boy and said, "Hey, don't give up." Roxas looked up and saw the White Wizard, somehow looking as if he's glowing in spite of the situation, with his hand extended. Roxas accepted his hand, and Merlin pulled him up and patted his back. "You're still here, as are they" and he pointed at all of his other friends who looked at him supportively as they each stood up. "Xehanort's gonna act cocky and sloppy now, which gives us the chance to recuperate, and then he'll get what he deserves." He looked at Roxas with a smile, but Roxas still wasn't entirely convinced. Then Merlin touched Roxas's chin and raised it back up and said, "You are a lot stronger than Xehanort ever was. You denied the darkness, and embraced your friends. You fought your way back, despite your body having slept for over a decade. And after this battle is over, you'll be the one standing, not Xehanort." This finally cheered Roxas up a little, and Merlin gently shoved Roxas to Terra and Aqua, who embraced him, and he them. Roxas uttered their names, "Terra….Aqua…" and let them comfort him. He wiped his tears, sniffed, then grunted and nodded, indicating he's still in the fight.

Everyone smiled, and Merlin nodded in approval. Then they all looked upwards, and Aqua commented, "He did it, he opened Kingdom Hearts." Not letting this disturb him, Merlin shouted, "Alright then, Curaga!" With that, everyone else's wounds were completely healed. He then used a mega-elixir, restoring their magic as well. "Alright then, let's stop Xehanort!" They all looked at him in wonder, and Sora asked, "How? He controls Kingdom Hearts now." Before Merlin could answer, Riku said to him "You? Worried?" Sora looked at him, then Mickey followed up, "We've still got one hope!"

"What hope?" Sora asked. Riku responded, "It's Xehanort" causing Sora to look at him in puzzlement, but Riku continued, "During the mark of mastery exam, we learned that he can transcend space and time. He's a portal. And we can use that to trap him." Mickey nodded and followed up, "But it won't be easy. Aqua, Riku, Merlin, I'll need your help if we're gonna push Xehanort out of this world."

"Understood" acknowledged Aqua. "I'm at your disposal, your highness" Merlin said with a bow. Then Sora said, "Wait! I'll do it." "What?" Riku said in surprise. Sora continued, "Kingdom Hearts is a much bigger threat! Let me handle Xehanort… while you guys keep it shut." Mickey reluctantly grunted in acknowledgement, while Merlin and the rest nodded, except Kairi and Riku, who walked up to him, with Kairi holding Sora's hand, and Riku putting his hand on Sora's shoulder. "We'll stand a better chance of three of us go in." Riku said, then Kairi said, "Or did you forget our promise that we made?" Sora looked at both of them, and seeing their confident faces lessened the tension in his heart. Sora sighed and nodded, smiling at his closest friends.

He then turned to face everyone else and said, "We've got this!" They all nodded again, this time with more hope. Before the three kids left, Donald and Goofy walked up to Sora. "You sure you don't us to come too?" Goofy asked. "Who else will heal you when you need it most?" Donald screeched. Sora then got to his knees and said to them, "I'll need you guys here, to pull us in when we come back." With a smile, the two loyal companions hugged Sora, and he hugged them back. For a moment, they stayed like that, then the two let Sora go, and watched him as he, Kairi, and Riku marched towards Kingdom Hearts.

"Let's move" Terra said to the others, "The darkness is spreading." Hearing him, Sora and his friends summoned their keyblades, then everyone else summoned their keyblades too. Then all the keyblade wielders pointed their blades to Kingdom Hearts, while Donald, Goofy, and Archer looked on. Beams came out of their keyblades, and in unison, struck Master Xehanort, who grunted in shock, before being pushed into Kingdom Hearts. Then the heart-shaped moon began to glow, and the three islanders jumped into the light into the World beyond.


	9. Chapter 8 - Subject X

As Maleficent, Pete, and the Armored Man look on at the badlands, observing the heroes push Master Xehanort into Kingdom Hearts itself, a beeping noise is heard on one of the Armored Man's gauntlets. The Armored Man moves the gauntlet to his face, and a virtual screen pops up, showing a flashing red sign. "Ahh, there she is", the man states with a satisfied sigh.

Maleficent and Pete managed to glance over at the man who informed them of the Black Box, and Maleficent asks, "Some good news?" The Armored Man closes the screen and turns to face Maleficent, "As a matter of fact, the best news I could ask for at the present time. Excuse me, for I must attend to this, but when I return, The Truth will finally be revealed." With that, the Man summons a dark portal, and vanishes into it. Pete then looks back to Maleficent, "Now that he's gone, we should take the Black Box for ourselves once it shows up!"

Maleficent grunts in frustration, but tries to keep calm now that her goal is so close, "All in good time. We still need the keyblade wielders to defeat Xehanort before the Box appears, and even then, we need to ensure it is safe for us, so be on your guard, especially around that man. I doubt anyone would freely give up such a powerful and important device out of the goodness of his heart. You and I know all too well by now how fickle a heart can be."

Ω

The interior of the Twilight Town Mansion continues to defy logic the deeper one ventures into it. Ansem, Leon, Dilan, and Aeleus have attempted to stay together as they navigated through a maze of stairs leading to seemingly nowhere, doors that reveal only more walls, and glitches in the program as pixels start becoming more frequent, items not completely rendering, or sporadic glitches that cause unnatural phenomena.

Holes would spontaneously appear and disappear, barely giving the four men time to reach to them. Doors would open, and items and furniture would pour out of them, either to block their way or cause harm to them. The four men ended up getting the sense that these glitches appeared deliberate, as if something was preventing them from reaching their destination.

Aeleus finally voiced his inquiries to his former mentor, "Master, seeing this twisted environment, and seeing it become more violent and sporadic the further in we venture, I must ask you how you were able to move Subject X here, and why she registers you as a threat even though you moved her away from us, and towards safety?"

Ansem answered, but did not face him, "My relationship with the Subject was never one of companionship, even after I saw the error of my ways and sought to spare her from further experiments. By the time I tried to move her away from Xehanort and the rest of you, I had permanently rooted myself as monster in her eyes. I was unable to help her in any conventional way, and so I was forced to intimidate her into moving to where I desired, including her final hiding place here, in the virtual world. When I had greater power over the darkness, I summoned heartless to chase her, and I tried to lead her to the destinations I had planned. Each time, though, she had gotten noticeably more powerful, forcing me to summon stronger heartless, risking both her life and my own in the process. Now, I go to her with no appearances of malice, but I doubt even now that she'll consider me a friend…"

Dilan spoke up next, "Regardless how Subject X might behave now, I will protect you, master. Your genius and your contributions cannot be lost because an experiment had gone awry. All scientists undergo failure before encountering success."

Leon showed displeasure at Dilan's statement, "She wasn't just a thing for you to experiment on! She's a living being that had to go through God know how many years of torture, while you people played with her, broke her, and did all other kinds of abuse. I can't blame her if she never trusts people again."

Dilan stopped and faced Leon, and both men appeared ready to battle each other, then Dilan said, "It is easy for **you** to judge us, to apply whatever values you have and label us as monsters and abusers. But she was not considered a 'living being' as you put it. Sure, her appearances could be deceiving, but we quickly discovered that she was nothing like us, and we did what was within our abilities to solve her mystery. Not one day goes by where I regret the duties we performed under Ansem as well as Xehanort. What might appear as a helpless child to you, to another it is a dangerous weapon. What might appear as a monster and abuser to you, another would see him as a savior or even a martyr."

Leon then got up in Dilan's face, "Is that what you tell yourself? How you justify everything you did, how you deal with the consequences now that you're human again? No… scratch that, I look at you now and I see that you were **never** human to begin with. You're a psychopath, and being a nobody just gave you the excuse to act out your sick wishes." Dilan raised his staff at Leon, who in turn pointed his Gunblade at Dilan, but Ansem moved in between the two and commanded, "ENOUGH! Now is not the time to quarrel amongst ourselves! Not when our lives are still at risk in this world."

The two looked at him, then at each other intently, and lowered their weapons. Ansem continued, "Dilan, Leon is right. There is only so much we can conduct in the name of science until we can no longer defend ourselves, until the ends no longer justify the means. Science might be cold and calculating, but we must not be. While we cannot let our emotions govern our pursuit of truth, neither must we forego our emotions to pursue the truth at the expense of others. Otherwise, how are we any better than tyrants, despots, and fascists who abuse their power and position for their own satisfaction? How can we call ourselves men of science if we reduce ourselves to barbaric practices to satiate our curiosity?" Dilan couldn't help but look away at Ansem's statement. Then Ansem faced Leon, "Though Dilan does raise the point that the values of the past cannot always be analyzed with a modern lens. Those like you who look into the past must first be weary of what they judge as barbaric, lest they redefine their entire culture based on a blanket verdict of all past achievements. Our work on the Subject nonetheless raised our awareness of the Heartless as well as other worlds, and helped develop the technology you used to defend the city from invading forces. While I cannot entirely defend our treatment of Subject X, you would do well to understand that our other works might also appear distasteful to you, but nonetheless benefitted everyone in this world. We sullied our hands to make the lives of others better, keep that in mind if we are to form a new trusting relationship from now on."

But Leon countered Ansem, "Just remember that this whole mess got as bad as it did because you were the perfect target for Xehanort. Whatever you people think you did, and however many excuses you try to make for your work, in the end you paved the way for a madman to unleash darkness on the universe, and now, here we are, paying the price. I'll trust you, Ansem, when you can finally admit your wrong doings without trying to justify yourself at any moment." The two stared at each other, Leon holding true to his statement, then Ansem bowed his head and faced forward again. Before the group could move, however, a door opened to them, but this time the door seem to actually lead to a room, and light came from beyond. The four men prepared themselves, and went through the door.

Inside, the room appeared to be one made for a child, with drawings placed on the walls, and other drawings scattered on the floor. The drawings contained recognizable figures, and seemed to accurately depict events of the past, but in an optimistic and child-like manner. Ansem judged that they had finally reached Namine's room, but the room appeared run down, weathered with age, but also seemed to endure abuse, as if someone had torn into the room in frustration and fear. Then the four men heard a noise, and noticed by the window a figure standing completely still, its face hidden by what appeared to be a black veil over its head. The black veil seemed to separate the farther down it went, giving it a tendril-like hair appearance, but still the face was completely hidden. The rest of the Shadow's bodily features were hard to discern, as its entire body seemed to be covered in a black cloth with vertical red stripes, and like the veil, the cloth seemed to be cut and split as it reached the ground, giving the black dress-like garment tentacle-like appendages that slithered along the floor. Overall, the creature appeared to have the combined appearance of a generic ghost-in-the-sheets and a woman wearing a black funeral dress with a veil covering her head. But the group could not tell what gender the creature was, if it even was Subject X at all, or if the creature was staring out the window or facing them. The immediate environment around the figure appeared to glitch in and out of existence.

Its very presence sent a chill down their spines, but Ansem raised his hand, signaling the others not to act rashly, and he approached the figure. He was confident it was what they were sent in here to rescue. "Hello, my dear," Ansem called out softly, but at the sound of his voice, all objects in the room were immediately raised into the air, and hit the ceiling, startling the four men.

But the Shadow did not move its body, however its dress started to rattle violently as if wind had caught it, and the men escorting Ansem could not help but feel it getting ready to attack. Dilan and Aeleus rushed to Ansem's side at once, and pointed their weapons at her. Ansem then cried out, "NO! Do nothing to her! That is not why we are here!" The creature then let out a moan that sounded both as a painful grown and one of sensual satisfaction, and dark tendrils lunged and charged at Ansem. In quick unison, Aeleus and Dilan fended off the tentacles, and moved to shield Ansem from the girl's sight.

Leon then moved from behind them, and pointed his Gunblade at the Shadow, firing a large energy shell at it, but the creature's veil opened up and absorbed the shot, then quickly closed again before the men could see what lay underneath. Then Dilan moved forward, "Whatever it is, it's hostile now and must be dealt with." He summoned more lances, and using his power of wind, hurled them at the Shadow, which seemed cause it to be thrown out the window. The four men ran to the window, and saw that the environment outside had appeared to be destroyed, with codes of data showing along the edges of certain destroyed structures. The sky was jet black, yet somehow there was enough illumination for them to partly see just outside the Mansion grounds, as if there was still a moon present. Then they saw the Shadow, and it was now absorbing Dilan's lances. A dark mass spread from it, enveloping the mansion, prompting the four men to jump out of the window before they were consumed as well.

When they landed, with Aeleus holding onto Ansem, they saw the Mansion disappear within the dark mass, and they realized, so did their way out of this virtual world.

Ω

Ienzo and Cid looked on the monitor, and saw that the signals of Ansem, Leon, Dilan, and Aeleus had disappeared. The two reacted in a startled fashion with Cid jumping out of his seat, and Ienzo grabbing the monitor and moving his face closer to it, as if that would help him find them. Yuffie noticed this, and got up from the desk she was sitting on and ran to them.

"What the hell?" Cid yapped, still with a ciggerette in his mouth, with puffs of smoke escaping his mouth with each word. "Where are they? What happened?" Ienzo cried in fear. Yuffie approached them as calmly as she could and asked, "What happened, guys?" Then Ienzo and Cid both responded hysterically at the same time, "We lost their signal!" Yuffie looked shocked, then asked, "Wait, how did that happen? You said they should be in the mansion, right? Where could they have gone?"

Ienzo answered, "We did notice some unusual readings as soon as they went in, but it didn't appear to be cause for alarm. Now…. For all I know their signal was scrambled, or they entered another space that isn't the mansion at all…" Yuffie and Cid looked at each other with dread in their eyes. Sweating, Ienzo gripped the monitor tighter, and muttered to himself, "Aeleus, Master, where did you go?"

Ω

The four men fled the Shadow as they deflected its tentacles. "Now what do we do?" Aeleus shouted. "We head into town and find cover from it for now!" Leon answered, panting as he both defended himself and ran from the creature. The made it too the woods, which appeared to have decayed over time. The trees all looked contorted, and some of them seemed to have joined each other at the branches, while others seemed to have partially vanished into code. Part of the ground had vanished as well, leaving only a dark abyss below.

The group then made it to the wall, which looked like it had undergone deconstruction. From behind them, they heard shrieking noises and saw that the forest was being enveloped by the Shadow's back tendrils as well as a dark mass that covered the floor. Everything the black mass touched corroded into code, then even the code disappeared into nothing. "Through the wall!" Leon commanded, and the group made haste to squeeze in between the construction material that made up the wall.

Ansem made it through first, then Aeleus, then Leon. Dilan was almost through, but then his leg got caught by one of the black tendrils. He looked at them, and they looked at him helplessly, and suddenly he was pulled through the wall back to the other side, his body suffering damage from the pieces of the wall. Then his body was slammed down hard into the ground. As he struggled to stand back up, the tendril proceeded to lift him up again, but Dilan stabbed at it with one of his lances, severing it from him. Dilan then used the lance to support him as he stood up all the way, and saw the Shadow had already cleared the forest and stood mere feet away from him.

Despite not seeing its face, Dilan could _feel_ its eyes on him, as if it already marked him for death. He summoned more lances to surround him, and valiantly took a stance to try and fend it off. Then more tendrils lunged at Dilan before he had a chance to react.

From beyond the wall, the three men heard Dilan screech, a sound that sent shivers down their bodies and made their hairs stand up straight. "I…. I never heard Dilan sound like that before…." Aeleus said as he gasped for air. Ansem looked on, his eyes wobbling as if they were about to burst, and Leon, sweating and biting his lip, yelled, "Come on! We have to get to town!" The other two men wobbled and turned around, and the three made for the town.

When they finally arrived, they could not believe the site before them. The town looked like it had undergone a violent and mind-numbing glitch, with some of the houses rooted into the walls of other larger buildings, but with no doors or windows. There was no sense of direction or gravity as the landscape curved upward, with more buildings suspended in the sky. Several buildings seemed to have joined together as they formed bridge-like constructs from the "sky" to the "ground" where the three stood. It was if the entire land had collapsed and folded in on itself.

As the three inspected this logic-defining sight more closely, they then started seeing what happened to the people. Some of them were suspended in the air, as if they were puppets on strings. Others appeared to have fused with the environment, with portions of their bodies disappearing into walls and roads. The bodies themselves were partially un-rendered, giving them a grotesque appearance of someone who had lost all their skin, and part of their muscle and fat, leaving their teeth and eyes exposed in a permanent bug-eyed grin. Men, women, children, and even animals all looked like the mannequins you'd see in a science room with their organs exposed.

"Oh God…" Leon whispered, "We… we have to find a place to hide in there…" He motioned his hand for Ansem and Aeleus to follow him, but as soon as they took a step towards the twisted Twilight Town, all the faces of the people turned and faced them, making a loud cracking noise as their necks turned. Every single one of the people now leered at the three surviving men. They made no sound, but they attempted to move and reach the group. Their bodies still caught in whatever place they were in, the bodies struggled to reach them. As the group went deeper into the town, the bodies started moving more violently and sporadically, each time one of the men got close to one, the body would flail about in unnatural speeds as if it was desperately trying to grab onto one of them. What the bodies would do once they managed to touch one of them, the men did not want to know. Then Leon heard a sound from behind them, and they saw the Shadow had already entered the town. Once it got within distance of the bodies, they then raised their arms in the air and began screaming as if they were in pain. This sight only frightened and disoriented the men even more, none of them could bring themselves to move and hide from the Shadow.

Ansem then dared to approach the Shadow, his arms and hands raised in from of him, trembling. "What happened to this town?!" Ansem gasped as he addressed the Shadow, "Was this place not….. not appealing for you? Was it really so terrible that you felt compelled to corrupt it so?!" The bodies then started weeping and howling. The three men could barely make out what they started saying amongst all the wailing, "False world! Prisoner! Lonely! Soulless! Loveless! Mission! Fleeing! Purpose! Warning! War! Darkness! Help! He's coming! He's coming! HE'S COMING!"

Aeleus couldn't bear to listen to their cries anymore, and charged at the Shadow creature, yelling, his eyes closed, wailing his massive ax in front of him, hoping he could quickly cut down the creature. More tendrils lunged at him, catching his arms and legs. He tried cutting them, and managed to cut a few, but then even more Tendrils caught up and tightened their grip, until he could no longer hold onto his ax. The Shadow then gagged Aeleus's mouth, silencing him, and as it pulled him towards it, he opened his eyes and looked upon the Shadow in terror. He tried screaming, but only muffled sounds came from his bandaged mouth. He had reached the creature, and had nearly been consumed by it before Leon fired off several shots, freeing Aeleus from its grip. The creature itself made no sound, but the bodies all screamed in pain as if they were the ones who had been shot. Leon ran up to Aeleus as he ripped up the bindings and tried to free himself. Leon then helped Aeleus back up, and then gave him his ax.

The two looked at each other and nodded, then faced the Shadow again, whose tendrils were now waving maniacally in the air. The bodies then all started yelling and growling at the two men, their hands clawing in their direction, and the Shadow slithered towards them. Leon and Aeleus got into a battle position, and Leon fired off some more shots. The Shadow absorbed them, and the bodies were heard groaning and sighing in satisfaction before changing back to growling at them.

Aeleus then smashed the ground, creating tremors and fissures, hoping to separate them from the creature by making a canyon between them. The Shadow then increased in speed and dashed towards them, but Leon fired a charged shot at the ground, causing an explosion that momentarily stopped the Shadow in its tracks. The creature itself then let out a shriek that made the men tear up in horror. Before Aeleus could strike the ground again, the Shadow opened itself up, and regurgitated a body. The body hit the ground, covered in a dark essence. The body then slowly got up, and the two could see that it was Dilan, only now he resembled his nobody, Xaldin, with the dark essence forming a cloak-like garment.

Dilan then raised his arms, and multiple lances appeared. The lances gathered together and formed a massive serpentine creature, then Dilan jumped onto the creature's back and rode it as it flew towards the group. Aeleus then leaped into the air and struck the creature with his ax, causing it to dismantle mid-air, but Dilan jumped and grabbed two of the lances, then let his body fall as he reached Aeleus. Aeleus tried to cut down Dilian, but Dilan blocked the ax with one of his lances, then used the other and managed to fatally stab Aeleus, causing him to cough up blood. Leon watched as the two fell to the ground and crashed, leaving smoke and a crater.

"Aeleus!" Leon called out, but there was no answer. When the smoke cleared, he saw the Shadow in the middle of consuming Aeleus, while Dilan slowly walked towards him. Leon saw that Dilan was too close for him to reload his gun, and prepared for melee combat. Dilan then dashed at him and swung his lances at Leon, with Leon barely managing to deflect them, but he did not let up. Leon then jumped back before both the lances struck him, piercing the ground instead. Leon took this chance and charged towards Dilan while his weapons were caught on the ground, only to be ambushed by four or lances that appeared in the air.

Leon jumped to an incredible height just as the lances all converged to his spot, and quickly reloaded his weapon while the lances changed their trajectory and homed in on him. "Do I have time to pull it off?" Leon gritted his teeth as muttered to himself, the lances quickly closing in. Desperate, Leon performs one of his limit-break finishers Fated Circle, spinning in place and releasing a shockwave from his charged Gunblade. The shockwave knocks away the lances, and knocks Dilan down. Leon then descends and lands back on the ground, and proceeds to finish Dilan before he can recover.

Leon catches up to Dilan, and begins his limit-break Sequential Sword, unleashing a series of powerful slashes onto the possessed guard. After striking Dilan seventeen times, Leon pointed his Gunblade directly towards Dilan, finishes him with the finisher Lion Heart, firing a massive explosion that completely annihilates Dilan. Tired and panting, Leon stumbles to the ground but lands on one knee. Before he could look up, he notices a massive ax swinging at him, and Leon barely rose his Gunblade in time to block the attack. Leon is then sent crashing back a ways and crashes into a wall.

Disoriented, Leon opens his eyes and sees Aeleus walking towards him, now corrupted by the creature. Leon struggled to leave the hole in the wall made from his impact, but then hands started grabbing at him. As Leon tried to free himself, he saw some of the bodies that were stuck in the wall trying to pin him in place for Aeleus to deal with him. Leon tried grabbing his Gunblade, but another body snatched it away. Leon then looked on as Aeleus marched towards him, his ax swinging back and forth. Leon closed his eyes and was ready to accept his fate, before he heard a voice cry out "ENOUGH!"

Leon opened his eyes and noticed the bodies no longer tightening their grip on him, and were now silent. Aeleus turned and faced away from Leon, and saw Ansem coming out from hiding. "Enough of this!" Ansem said, "If this is all you're capable of now, then take me! I am the orchestrator of your sorrows, so please spare him and take me instead!"

Leon then tried to free himself from the bodies, but they would not loosen, then he said to Ansem "Just get away from here! Find a way out!" But Ansem continued to walk towards Aeleus and the Shadow, his hands extending away from his body in a manner indicating his surrender. "Let Leon go" Ansem begged, "he has nothing to do with what I and my students did to you. Release him, and take me instead." The Shadow allowed Aeleus to walk to him, and punched Ansem hard in the face, knocking the old man down. Aeleus then proceeded to beat the man, punching and kicking him, as the Shadow crept closer. Leon struggled more desperately to free himself as he heard the old man grunt in pain, as his former student beat him to within an inch of his life. The bodies seemed to be cheering Aeleus on, as if they were an audience watching a fighting match. "ANSEEEEEMMM!" Leon cried.

Finally, Aeleus ceased his beating, and Ansem, lying on the ground beaten to a bloody pulp, raised his hands in the air in a pleading manner. "P-please….. just…. Finish me….." he sputtered as blood dripped from his mouth. Aeleus moved out of the way for the Shadow's trendrils, which grabbed onto Ansem and dragged him across the floor and towards the Shadow. As the creature opened up to consume him, Ansem heard Leon's voice in the distance, crying out his name. Darkness nearly consumed Ansem, who had accepted his fate, until something or someone appeared in between him and the Shadow. The newcomer's teleportation caused a small explosion, releasing Ansem from the Shadow's grip and forcing the Shadow to move back at an incredible speed. The bodies cried in pain, releasing Leon from their grip. Leon then saw his Gunblade drop from another body's hold, and ran to it and grabbed it.

Looking back at where he saw Ansem and the Shadow, the smoke cleared, and standing above Ansem was an armored man in a green cloak and robe. The armored man's back was towards Ansem, while he faced the Shadow without an ounce of fear. "Ahhh, you reveal yourself at last!" The armored man cried out to the Shadow, which was now twitching violently in place now that the newcomer's interrupted its execution.

Then the armored man turned slightly towards Ansem's direction, "I must congratulate you, Ansem, for to be able to conceal this creature in its current state, is a feat worthy of praise." Ansem focused his eyes, and seemed to recognize him. "You…." Ansem whispered, "It's you…" "It has been a long time, as you've seen better days" the armored man said while extending a hang. As Ansem grabbed it, Aeleus roared from behind him, and charged towards Ansem and the armored man. Leon aimed his Gunblade and tried to shoot Aeleus, but was too injured to clearly focus. The armored man did not move an inch while Aeleus ran towards him and Ansem. Then Aeleus swung his ax high and raised it back down, only for the armored man to casually block it with one armored hand, sending a mild shockwave in all directions away from where he stood.

Both Leon and Ansem stared at this stranger in awe as he then crushed the ax in his hand, and shot Aeleus with a powerful energy beam from his armored hand, sending Aeleus flying back and crashing into a building, a massive portion of his body destroyed from the blast.

Then the armored man helped Ansem to his feet, and the two turned to face the Shadow. The creature then caused a dark mass to flood the ground around it, then the dark mass reached the armored man and Ansem in an attempted to engulf them, but the armored man waved his hand and the dark mass stopped before him, as if a barrier had blocked its path. The shadow then screeched as it then lunged a large number of tentacles towards the armored man, but when the tendrils reached him, a green forcefield suddenly appeared and stopped the tendrils from touching him.

The tendrils pounded on the force field, but did not seem to make a dent or a crack. Finally, the armored man spoke, "Intriguing… these appendages are made out of a substance not from this universe, and the creature…" Leon could barely hear the armored man seemingly analyze the Shadow as it pounded away at his forcefield. After a moment, he heard the armored man say, "…but enough of this senseless tantrum! It is time you learned your place!" and from within his forcefield, the armored man fired another energy beam from his hands, dealing the Shadow a devastating blow. The black mass and tendrils all retracted back to the Shadow's body, allowing the armored man to disable his force field and walk towards it. Leon rushed to Ansem's aid as the armored man made his way to the Shadow.

"Are you ok?!" Leon asked, seeing just how badly bruised the old man looked, and was amazed he was still alive at all. Then Leon heard the armored man speak again, "I will not let this vile abomination extinguish you just yet, Ansem! For this world is still in need of your wisdom! However, perhaps now you'll be _wise_ and not blindly tackle the unknown again as you did with this one. Once I domesticate this creature, I will release you from this world." The armored man now reached the Shadow, which was shrieking loudly at him, but the man waved his hand and trapped the creature within another green forcefield. The creature continued to shriek as it tried to free itself. Then the forcefield, as well as the man's armored hand started glowing, and Leon and Ansem could see the creature calming down. After a moment, the glowing dimmed and the forcefield was disabled. From what Leon and Ansem could make in the distance, what stood in place of the creature appeared to be a naked girl, though a dark shroud now covered her, giving her some modesty.

"However," the armored man said as he then turned and faced them, "I must ensure you do not repeat this mistake again." In an instant, all four of them vanished from the virtual world, their teleportation causing a massive explosion that starts to disintegrate the virtual town. The bodies cry in horror as they fall into the void below.

Ω

The armored man teleports all four of them into the lab room where Ienzo, Cid, and Yuffie are, causing another small explosion that knocks them back, and destroying the equipment. The armored man and the girl stand in place as Leon, Ansem, and the others all lie on the ground throughout the destroyed room. Then the armored spoke, "Learn from this, Ansem, start over, for you were on the correct path before this one interfered. In time, I shall return, and your world will be amongst many to prosper in my new empire!" When he finished, the man and the girl vanished into a portal, leaving the others in the room.

Ienzo crawled to his master, "Sir! Are you alright?" Ienzo grabbed Ansem's hand, and the old man gently squeezed it. "It…would seem so…." Yuffie, who appeared to be the least injured, helped Cid get up before attending to Leon, "What the hell was that? What happened?" Leon coughed, then raised his head and stared at Ansem, who stared back in return. Then Leon answered, "A lot happened…."

Ω

Maleficent and Pete then witnessed the armored man return to the badlands with the girl, and the two expressed mild surprise and confusion. "And what is this whom you've brought with you?" Maleficent demanded towards the man. The girl then emerged from behind the armored man and looked upon Maleficent and Pete.

"What is this, you ask?" the man answered in a condescending tone. "Why, this here is a homunculus, one whose existence I discovered while travelling across various worlds and read upon their histories. From what I extrapolated, this doll was stored with information, a warning if you will, before fleeing from the keyblade war. However, it seems she was stored with far more than just a message, as her energy readings radiate with a power that I can only describe as ancient and primal. As I suspected, Kingdom Hearts is not the only power source to exist…" The armored man then waved his hand towards the two, beckoning the girl to towards them. "It appears I acquired her earlier than planned, which means, I no longer need the two of you to open the box once it appears. Now, my dear" he says to the girl, "feast!" The girl then transformed back into the Shadow, and proceeded towards them.

Pete cowered and retreated behind Maleficent, but the fairy merely grumbled, "You fool! We will not back down from this! Not while I still breath! I will not let them stop us when we're so close!" She then tapped Pete with her staff, and he began to chance. Pete fell to the floor as he appeared to grow in size, his face becoming more monstrous and his body expanding in all directions. The armored man started indifferently as he saw Pete take on his Julius form, a towering version of Pete with dark blue fur, plague-stained fangs, and bright red hair. Julius wore a light blue shirt that was ripped at the sleeves, dark blue pants worn up to his chest, and dirty white gloves. Several parts of the clothes appeared to be stitched together, and one of his legs was now replaced with a pegleg. Julius also had metal bolts sticking out of his neck. This site would truly cause other to tremble, but the armored man appeared unimpressed as he allowed his new pawn, the Shadow to take on this new monster, while Maleficent stood behind smiling, assuming her empowered minion would deal with the the Shadow before she herself tries to deal with the traitorous armored man.

Julius leaped an incredible distance in an attempt to body slam the Shadow, moving at incredible speed despite his size. The Shadow veered away at the last second before Julius slammed into the ground. The Shadow then lunged its tentacle at Julius, but the brute rolled out of the way before charging at the Shadow. This time, the Shadow engulfed a large portion of the land in the dark mass, with Julius running right into the dark smog before he had a chance to react. Julius then started sinking, as if he had been caught in quick sand, and proceeded to free himself. The Shadow then ensnared Julius in its tendrils now that its prey could no longer dodge them. The Shadow then slithered towards Julius, and opened itself up and began to devour him. Despite his size, the Shadow seemed to stretch its body in order for it to envelop its prey. Maleficent watched in horror as she saw her long-time minion be consumed by a darkness that made her own seem pure in comparison.

Then she faced the armored man and gritted her teeth at him, while the man observed his new servant, and uttered "Fascinating…"

Maleficent then hurls dark balls and lightning at the armored man, but his forcefield prevents them from causing any damage, and he just stands there and looks at her with a judgemental look. Frustrated, Maleficent cries, "No, this cannot be!" She then raises her staff in the air, "Meteors of heaven, unleash they fury!" As meteors appear in the sky and fall toward the armored man, he merely raised both of his hands and shoots down every one of the meteors, destroying them until they're reduced to harmless falling rubble. The man then casually speaks to her, "I must say I'm disappointed, for I heard of a dark fae who threatened worlds with an army of heartless, commanding the vilest of villains. Yet here, now, your final minion falls to mine, and you cower at a distance and hurl spells at me. You must not be the one called Maleficent after all…"

Hissing, Maleficent responds to him, "Fool! Now you shall deal with me, and all the powers of HELL!" She then engulfed herself in green flames, and emerged in her intimidating dragon form. The armored man then addressed her, "Well now! This is more like it! But I must ask, vile fae, how long was it since you last assumed this form? And can you still control the darkness within, or have you reduced yourself to a mindless beast?" The dragon then roared at the man and shot green fire at him from its mouth, but again, the forcefield protected him flawlessly. "Hmmm" the man then groaned in dissatisfaction. The dragon then charged towards the man but was then caught in the Shadow's tentacles. The dragon turned and faced the Shadow, attempting to burn it, but the Shadow merely absorbed its flames.

Maleficent attempted to avoid the inevitable dark mass that the Shadow would use to engulf her, and took flight, but more and more tendrils grabbed onto Maleficent. The Shadow now appeared more powerful after having feasted on Pete/Julius. Then, some of the tendrils grabbed onto Maleficent's wings, preventing them from flapping and causing her massive dragon body to crash into the ground, right in front of the armored man, who did not move an inch from his place since he returned to the badlands.

The man then leaned towards the dragon head, and boastfully whispered, "Now, Maleficent, you will experience a glimpse of true darkness, and the last think you'll realize before your demise, was how ignorant you were to the true powers of the universe. After my servant devours you, she will be strong enough to open the box once those children vanquish my old master." The dragon roared in defiance to its fate, but then the Shadow's tendrils muzzled its mouth shut, then the man watched with pride as his Shadow servant consumed the helpless dragon, while the battle for Kingdom Hearts rages in the land beyond.


	10. Chapter 9 - The End of an Era

The bright light begins to dim, allowing Sora, Kairi, and Riku to open their eyes and take in their surroundings. It seems they made it to the other side of Kingdom Hearst, but what they saw defied their expectations.

"Whoa, where are we?" Sora asked. The three islanders took the time absorbing this wondrous site: they were standing in one of seemingly infinite number of mountain-like cities stretching as far as the eye could see. Each mountain-city seemed to be suspended over an ocean of water. The buildings in each city appeared to be made out of a glistening white/gold material, and there were windmills spread all throughout the cities. The islanders also noticed cable-cars that went from the base of the city to the top. They also spotted gondolas by the piers, possibly allowing transport from one mountain-city to the other.

The world was perpetually sunny and clear, and the three kids could not help but find it breathtakingly beautiful. Kairi was the one that attempted to summarize their thoughts, "It's…..beautiful…" Sora, still admiring the view himself, grabbed Kairi's hand, "Yes, it is…." Riku, trying to focus, decided to remind his two friends why they were here, "Ok, guys, admire it another time." Sora and Kairi then flinched, as if they were released from a trance, and the two looked at each other and laughed. Then Sora replied, "Right, we have to find Master Xehanort."

As the trio made their way further into the mountain-city they had landed on, Kairi spotted a massive structure and pointed, "Look over there. What's that?" Sora and Riku turned to where she was pointing, and they saw a massive golden statue of a man in armor, dual-wielding two weapons. One weapon resembled the X-blade, which was pierced to the ground with the man holding its handle. The man held the other weapon towards the sky, but neither Sora, Kairi, or Riku could determine what kind of weapon it was. They figured it was also some type of sword, but the "blade" section had an abnormal shape that didn't match any type of sword they'd seen. The weapon had a grip and hand-guard, but the blade and the tip was dull and cylindrical, with three independent sections that looked like they could spin in alternating directions, making the weapon look more like a drill than a sword. Each of the three sections of the blade had markings on them, like litographs.

The three kids couldn't bear to look upon the statue anymore, as the odd weapon's design seemed to cause a headache. Then Sora asked, "Who do you think he is? Some kind of leader? A king maybe?" Riku pondered, "Whoever he is, I'm betting he was the first keyblade wielder. I haven't heard of many people who wielded the X-blade, other than those who tried obtaining it by dangerous means like Xehanort. But if this guy has his own statue, and was acknowledged by the people of this world as a wielder of the X-blade, I would bet he was the first Keyblade Master in history." "What about that other weapon?" Kairi asked. "Merlin never mentioned such a weapon to me or Axel."

"I honestly don't know" Riku replied, unable to even venture a guess. "Yen Sid never said anything about such a weapon either." The three noticed markings on the platform that held the statue, but it was in a language they couldn't recognize. Then the three continued exploring, but quickly realized that there seemed to be no one around, no civilians. "It sure is quiet here" Sora muttered. "Yeah, there's no one around" Kairi added.

Then Sora felt like he saw something at the corner of his eye. To his right, he saw Master Xehanort in the distance, disappearing behind a building. Then Kairi saw Xehanort as well, to her left heading down a plaza-like area. "Hey, there!" Sora and Riku turned, and they also saw Xehanort. The three ran after the silhouette, only for Riku to notice Xehanort beyond some stairs to the right of where Kairi saw him. "Guys!" Riku called out, and Sora and Kairi immediately stopped, then noticed Xehanort standing there as well. "Uh, what?" Sora asked, unable to comprehend how Xehanort was moving about as he was. As the three stared at him, Kairi saw another Xehanort to her left. Riku saw another Xehanort to his right. All the Xehanorts seemed to glitch and fizzle, like static on a screen. "What's going on?" Sora asked hysterically. Then suddenly their appearances shifted, now they were wearing black robes, with red threads on the chest and elbows. They also wore helmets that vaguely resembled a typical knight's, with five horns crowning the top, two of which were on either side of the helmet, two more on the back, and a fifth shorter horn on the forehead.

The armored Xehanorts then began levitating up into the air, still remaining completely motionless from when the islanders found them standing. "Are you serious?" Sora asked rhetorically, noticing that it now seemed they had to fight multiple Xehanorts, despite that one of them managed to beat their entire team not that long ago. Then they noticed more armored Xehanorts appearing from beyond the buildings, all floating to where they were in the plaza, and eventually there totaled 12 armored Xehanorts hovering in the air in a circular form, hovering above the three Keyblade Wielders. They all summoned their keyblades, ready for the fight of their lives.

"Are they the Organization?" Kairi wondered out loud. "Well, I doubt they're the locals" Riku retorted. "Ready?!" Sora blurted out. As he said that, the armored Xehanorts descended and attacked the three islanders, forcing them to jump forward and become separated. Sora found himself facing up to four of the armored Xehanorts, and from what he could tell, it was the same for Kairi and Riku.

Each of the armored Xehanorts appeared to wield a different weapon, loosely based on past Organization members. "Huh, well, at least I know their moves by now," Sora muttered to himself, in a vain attempt to brighten the mood despite the 4:1 odds. He couldn't help but worry about Kairi and Riku, then suddenly one of the Xehanorts dashed towards him with an ethereal blade, but Sora managed to block it with his keyblade. "Can't worry about them now, I have to have faith in my friends." As he muttered to himself, he pushed the armored Xehanort back, then continued, "I have faith in my friends! I can beat you, and so can they!" Then Sora pushed the armored Xehanort back and activated his shotlock, firing multicolored beams at the armored Xehanort, dealing heavy damage. Then Sora used his shotlock to dash to another Xehanort, not letting up on his second wind.

Kairi was pushed back to a massive gate-like structure, and waited for the Xehanorts to rush her. Once they did, she activated Aeroga, catching them in a massive whirlwind. Then she used Thundaga as many times as she could while the Aeroga spell lasted, damaging the Xehanort clones. Once she built-up enough MP, she unleashed her grand Thundaga spell, dealing devastating damage to the Xehanort clones. But once the Aeroga spell ended, and Kairi found herself somewhat exhausted after expending so much MP, she saw that the Xehanorts still appeared able to fight, each of them pointing their weapons at her and preparing to pounce. Kairi used the opening she made from her bout of spells and jumped up along a building wall, running until she could reach the top. The then ran along the roofs of conjoined buildings while she tried to find an ether to refill her MP, the Xehanorts giving chase.

Riku found himself on the defensive, either deflecting or dodging each Xehanort that bursted towards him. "Agh, I've had it with this!" Riku roared, then activated Graviga to pull the Xehanorts into one spot, but saw that they were resisting the spell somewhat. Riku used this chance to attack the Xehanorts one at a time, unleashing a flurry of strikes at the closest one. Once the Gragiva spell ended, Riku decided to shotlock to the next closest Xehanort, and using the energy built-up from beating the previous Xehanort, Riku unleashes Ars Arcnanum on the current Xehanort, dealing thirteen powerful strikes. The Xehanort clone fell down once Riku finished, only for Riku to notice the other two Xehanorts caught in his Graviga charge at him simultaneously. He managed to block their weapons with his keyblade, but the force of their impact still send him flying back and crashing into a building. After a moment, Riku slowly got up, removing the rubble from his clothes, and limped out of the building. He saw his four Xehanorts levitating in the air, their weapons glowing in their hands. Then he leaned on the door of the building and muttered, "This is some bull-" but before he could finish, the four Xehanorts started rising rapidly up into the sky, causing Riku to look at them suspiciously.

The Xehanorts battling Sora and Kairi did the same thing. As the islanders watched their opponents rise up into the sky, they then saw them point their weapons towards the center of the mountain city, and as soon as that happened, the entire sky turned jet-black, and a massive star-shaped rune formed over the city, with 12 circular ends along the circumference of the rune. Then numerous red beams rained down upon the city, and the three kids did what they could to avoid them. Using the buildings as cover didn't seem to help, as the beams easily penetrated through them. Sora, Kairi, and Riku dodged and glided through the city, and when they found they couldn't avoid a beam, they used Reflega, opting not to risk using their keyblades to deflect the beams based on how much damage they can seemingly cause.

Finally, the gargantuan spell finished, and the kids took the opportunity to regroup. "Anyone make any headway with these guys?" Riku asked panting. "If you still count twelve of them, then no, sorry" Sora answered sarcastically. "I might have an idea" Kairi said, "but I can't guarantee it'll actually kill all of them, but at least wound them even more, maybe enough for us to pick them off afterwards." "I'll take any suggestions at this point" Sora responded, then Kairi began briefing them on her plan as the twelve Xehanorts quickly descended and homed on the overwhelmed islanders. "Wait until they're close enough" Kairi suggested, but Sora and Riku started to look nervous as the Xehanorts got uncomfortably closer at alarming speed. Once they were only a few meters, they all shouted out, "AEROGA!"

Three massive whirlwinds were conjured, catching all the Xehanorts in their torrential winds. Then the three islanders unleashed their shotlocks on the helpless Xehanorts. Fireworks of spells flew around in the air as they sought their targets, exploding violently once they landed on the Xehanorts. Once the Aeroga spells ended, Riku noticed the Xehanorts trying to spread apart, "Oh no you don't" Riku yelled, then said, "GRAVIGA!" Riku correctly surmised that the Xehanorts were now too weak to resist spell like they did earlier, as they now became pulled into the small black hole conjured from the spell.

Then he looked at Sora and said, "Let's do it!" It took a moment for Sora to understand what he meant, then he nodded and grunted, "Right!" The two then stood side by side and jumped into the air so that they were level with the Xehanorts. Then in mirror-like movements, the two raised their hands towards the Xehanorts and summoned a massive keyblae-like weapon. The two boys then swung the blade as many times as they could, catching all the Xehanorts in their strikes. The two swung until the Graviga spell ended, and until they were too tired to continue. Then the two descended to the ground, heaving and panting. Kairi ran up to them and prepared to defend them as they recovered. But their last two attacks seemed to have done the trick. The three kids looked up, and saw each of the Xehanorts falling to the ground, lifeless. After the last one fell, the three kids then allowed themselves to fall into a sitting or kneeling position, and caught their breaths. The three sat back-to-back, resting their heads on each other.

After a few moments, they heard a voice speak to them, "Of all the places to be sent…" Startled, the kids looked up, and saw Mater Xehanort at the top of a pile of stairs, grinning and holding his hands behind his back. As he faced them and spoke, they stood back up slowly, maintaining caution, "Behold, this town… Once a seat of power for all Keyblade wielders. It is the nexus from which all worlds spring."

Sora then spoke to the others, "Is he talking about the One World Merlin and Yen Sid mentioned yesterday?" Before the others could answer, they saw the defeated Xehanort clone rise up into the air as if picked by an invisible force, then each of them burst into grey clouds one by one, a smoky sphere remaining where their bodies once did. Once all the bodies exploded into spheres, they all then rushed towards Xehanort, his body absorbing them as they crashed into him. Then he continued, "Here, I and my other selves can be one. United… in Scala ad Caelum!" he ended, referring to the world by its name.

Then Master Xehanort began to levitate in the air, his body covered in a dark aura from having absorbed the other Xehanort clones. After sighing and grunting in pain, a powerful shockwave emitted from where he floated, startling the three kids. Xehanort was then covered in a dark shroud, and after a moment, he emerged from the shroud in a more ceremonial version of the armor that the clones wore, this time the helmet resembling a Baphomet.

Xehanort then summoned his Gazing Eye keyblade. And prepared to attack the three kids. "This is my last Elixir" Kairi stated. It was a mega-elixir, completely healing all three of them and rejuvenating their MP. The kids no longer felt tired, and with this new burst of energy, gained new confidence in taking down Master Xehanort once and for all. "Thanks Kairi" Sora said gratefully, "I'm also out." "As am I," Riku added regretfully. "But look at the bright side," Sora continued, "Now we outnumber him." Kairi and Riku couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

Then they saw Xehanort motion his hands towards them, and then an earthquake seemed to erupt. The three kids looked around hysterically, then saw that the city appeared to be folding in on itself, as buildings appeared in the sky. With another hand motion, Xehanort shifted the gravity, causing the three kids to slide to their left and landing on the side of a building. "Whoa! Are you guys ok?" Sora asked. But before they could answer, Xehanort again motioned his hand, and snarled, "Down"

Again the gravity was shifted, and the kids ended up falling through the city and towards the ocean. But the city continued to shift and twist, with the kids continuing to fall through to wherever gravity pulled them. They couldn't even glide, as the gravity shifts disoriented them. Finally, the city stopped shifting, and now formed a giant cylindrical dome like structure. The kids then managed to get themselves to safely land on the side of a building, and as they took in the physics-defying site, Xehanort floated towards them and said with a cackle, "I admire your tenacity!"

The kids prepared to attack, but Xehanort crossed his hands over his chest, and multiple dark-lighting orbs surrounded the kids. On reflex, Kairi activated Reflega as the orbs closed in on them, then the three kids flew to Xehanort, and relentlessly swung their keyblades at him. The heavily armored old man proved to be quite spry, as he either blocked or doged their attacks. "Pathetic!" he boasted, then would try and take out the kids one at a time, but the other two would quickly run to the third's aid while the single-out wielder defended from his attacks and countering, dealing some damage. "What?" the old man uttered, surprised by their teamwork, and he found himself flying back a ways and shouted, "Be gone!" He fired a Firaga-like spell with a wide range, but the kids all avoided it by flying away. Then Xehanort flew up into the massive dome, and called down a massive pillar of fire, forcing the kids to take cover. Once the fire pillar ended, in its place was a thunder-like sphere which seemed to pull the kids in like it was a Gravity spell. As the kids struggled to avoid being pulled in, Xehanort went for Sora. The boy desperately tried to defend from his attacks while also being pulled into the gravity-like spell. When Sora realized he would be sucked in, he ended up grabbing onto Xehanort, startling the old man. Then Sora said, "Fine! Then you're coming with me!" Riku and Kairi looked on an called out to him, "Sora!"

Then Sora and Xehanort were pulled into the gravity spell and both endured the damage from within, followed by an explosion. When Sora came flying out, Kairi casted Curaga on him. Sora then woke up and resummoned his Keyblade, though his clothes remained damaged, and bruises still showed throughout his body.

Then Xehanort floated back up and motioned his hand yet again. "Oh, great!" Riku groaned, as the three prepared for another jarring shift in the landscape. This time Xehanort caused them to fall all the way into a pool of water than formed in the massive room, and the four resumed their fight, this time submerged.

The Sora and Riku adapted to their new environment faster than Xehanort expected, as they had both traversed various worlds to know how to fight in such conditions. Kairi, however, tried to keep up, which hindered her performance. When Xehanort noticed her sluggish movements, he proceeded to take her out, only to find Sora and Riku guarding her with a vengeance. Xehanort groaned to himself and proceeded to swim circles around the kids, trying to take them out with long range magic when they least expected it. But again, Sora and Riku countered this with relative ease, as this attack was a far cry from what Xemnas through at them with his ethereal blades.

Frustrated, Xehanort then surrounded them with massive fire pillars that quickly closed in on the trio. Sora and Riku quickly motioned to Kairi how to swim with incredible speed, and the three used their Keyblades as rudders and avoided the fire pillars. Then the three unleashed what spells they could unto Xehanort as he closed in on them. Riku decided to catch Xehanort's attack, and managed to lock the old man in place. Then Sora and Kairi bombarded the old master with strikes and stabs while Riku desperately held on, taking some of the damage. After a few seconds, Xehanort pushed all three kids away, and Sora took the chance to cast Curaga on Riku.

The three kids then saw Xehanort vanish before their eyes. After looking around the area and not seeing any sign of him, Riku pointed upwards and the kids swam up to the surface.

Once they emerged from the body of water, they saw how much damaged Scala ad Caelum and suffered from their battled, as the remains of one of the mountain-cities started to slowly sink into the ocean. In the distance, Sora spotted Xehanort among the buildings, and without thinking he jumped and made his way towards him.

Once Sora was close enough, Xehanort summoned a fire pillar from the ground, catching Sora while he was still mid-air. Xehanort proceeded to attack the helpless boy while he was disoriented, but Sora managed to block and counter Xehanort's attack and damage his armor, frustrating the old man.

Soon, Sora was joined by Kairi and Riku, and the four were now hovering in the air. They flew around, striking each other's blades as they crossed each other. The three kids did not let up as Xehanort tried to distract the with fire balls and fire pillars suddenly sprouting from the ground. When one kid appeared to be caught, another casted a spell to protect them from the damage, while the third kid homed in on Xehanort before he could cast another spell. The three showed remarkable teamworok, and Xehanort couldn't help but silently praise them. At the same time he cursed them for giving him this much trouble, despite wielding the power of the X-blade and Kingdom Hearts.

The four keyblade wielders continued flying through the air, too fast for regular eyes to perceive, as their blades continued to clash as they struck each other, forming sparks in the air as if they were lightning in a storm.

Then Xehanort uttered, "Taste defeat!" And he pulled one of the kids, Sora, towards him. Allowing himself to be pulled, Sora unleashed a birage of Firaga spells once he was close enough, catching Xehanort off guard. Then Riku and Kairi used this opening and struck Xehanort as many times as they could. Sora then joined in, and the three kids began unleashed hell on the old master until they could no longer swing their keyblades.

Once they finished, the impact from their blows sent Xehanort crashing into a nearby building. The three regrouped, then heard Xehanort utter, "You think you have won?!" Then the kids saw him emerge from the crater in the wall, limping as he stepped onto a building suspended underneath him. The old man dropped his keyblade, which then disappeared. Then Xehanort saw his damaged armor crack and explode, leaving him vulnerable to the kids.

Looking upon them as they stood over him, Xehanort merely smirked and teleported away. The three kids then looked up at the peak of the mountain city, where a tower-like structure still stood despite the battle. The three looked at each other and nodded, and jumped across the buildings to the peak of the city.

Once they reached the tower, the three entered and looked around, before Xehanort materialized in front of them, still smiling his sinister smile, and arrogantly folding his hands behind him.

The three kids walked towards him, and summoned their keyblades again. Then Sora, swinging his keyblade and pointing it towards the old man, yelled out, "It's all over, Xehanort!" But still the old man stared down at the kids, smiling at them, and then responded, "You thought you could contain me here… knowing all that you do about connections?"

Xehanort then swung one of his hands forward, and the kids prepared for another attack from him. But instead, Xehanort emitted a bright light from his hands, temporarily blinding the three islanders. Once the light dimmed out, the three stared at Xehanort, and were shocked to see him holding the X-blade instead.

Xehanort then floated up in the air, and looked down upon the kids, and after marveling at his X-blade, raised it behind him and yelled out, "There is one sky, one destiny!" Then from up above, beyond the clouds, something started appearing. But the three kids did not back down, and the four began their final battle.

As they flew around the peak of the mountain-city, the three kids transformed their keyblades, decided to go all-out now that Xehanort had his X-blade out. Sora aimed his shotlock at Xehanort and zipped towards him, but met with a powerful swing of his X-blade. Sora barely blocked the attack but was sent flying back.

As he fell back Kairi and Riku flew towards Xehanort, with Kairi firing spells for cover-fire as Riku went in for melee combat. Xehanort deflected Kairi's spells, then was met with a violent series of slashes from Riku. Despite blocking all of Riku's attacks, Xehanort still felt the force from the kid's swings, and surmised that he had to break free soon. Xehanort used his X-blade to catch Riku's on his next swing, and after giving the boy a gloat smirk, proceeded to push the boy backwards. But Riku saw Sora coming in, grabbed his hand, and as Riku was sent flying back, Sora came swinging in, catching the old man by surprise.

The extra momentum from the two boys swinging each other gave Sora enough force to crash into Xehanort and send him flying through the tower to the other side of the peak. Impressed, Xehanort quickly floated up higher into the air and watched as the three kids regrouped in the center plaza of the tower. Once the three kids gathered, Xehanort conjured light from under where the kids stood, and before the kids could avoid it, they were being dragged up to Xehanort on his light-platform.

Then Xehanort shouted out, "Come, Kingdom Hearts!" and revealed that the object appearing beyond the clouds was the titular power source itself, hanging like a heart-shaped moon in the sky.

Now that the three kids were suck inside the light-platform the old man summoned, a barrier preventing them from escaping it, Xehanort called down thin pillars of light onto islanders. The agile kids managed to avoid them, then Xehanort started vanishing and reappearing near one of the kids, hoping to strike them when they did not expect it.

The three kids, however, reacted in time and managed to block his attacks. However, Xehanort picked up the pace, and the kids found themselves unable to keep up with his sudden teleporting strikes. Xehanort managed to land a hit or two on each of the kids, before deciding to end the attack and switch things up.

Xehanort then rose above the kids and swung his keyblade in his palm, gloating to them, "Enlighten me!" Then he threw his Keyblade into the sky and towards Kingdom Hearts, and then bands of light radiated from the moon which seemed to absorb the light out of Sora and Riku, turning them into shadow-like forms. Kairi gasped as she saw her friends turn into their dark forms, only to see them persist and continue the fight against Xehanort.

But the old man conjured more pillars of light to keep the two shadow boys at bay, and fired bullets of light from his X-blade that homed in on them. Kairi watched as the two boys struggled to avoid Xehanort's attacks, but then realized that Xehanort had not seemed to pay her any mind. Using this opportunity, she dashed towards Xehanort and surprised the old man with violent strikes.

The old man could not understand how the girl remained in her form, "How did you retain your light, girl? Why did you not fall to darkness like them?!" Kairi smirked and answered, "Did you already forget? I don't have any darkness! I'm a princess of heart!" Kairi then did her best to hold off Xehanort while Sora and Riku, still in their shadow forms, avoided Xehanort's spells, hoping she could keep him occupied until his spells wore off.

Frustrated, Xehanort countered Kairi's attacks and began unleashing strikes of his own, overwhelming Kairi as she desperately tried to block them. "Infernal Princess of Heart!" the old man called out to her, "Don't you see what I'm trying to accomplish?! With Kingdom Hearts now under my command, I can usher a new era and prevent another Keyblade War from every happening again!"

Finally, his spells wore off, and Sora and Riku saw Kairi trying to fend off the old master on her own. Xehanort then managed to grab Kairi by the neck in between swings, and held his X-blade to her face, and said, "You are no longer needed!"

But Sora and Riku managed to reach the old man, and before he could defend himself, Kairi grabbed his X-blade, leaving him open to their vengeance. The two boys violently clawed at Xehanort as well as swung their keyblades at him, and with each strike, orbs of light spilled out of his body.

After enough strikes, Sora and Riku grabbed Xehanort, who released Kairi from his grip, and through him to the center of the light platform. Disoriented, he floated helplessly as the two boys then came in from opposing directions and struck Xehanort every time they flew past him. After four or five passes, the two boys then rose above him, unleashing dark aura from their bodies, and came crashing down towards Xehanort, knocking him into the center of the light platform with an explosive impact.

Sora and Riku then regained their normal forms as they absorbed the orbs of light that was cluttered on the platform, and they were quickly joined by Kairi. But then the three were blinded by another light, then saw multiple thrown-like structures rising above them from the light platform, surrounding the kids. On the tallest thrown, Xehanort sat casually, while shadow-like figures sat on the other throwns, each one lower than the last.

Then they heard Xehanort cry out, "Expire!" and were bombarded by the shadow figures who came rushing from their thrones to attack the kids. As the kids tried fending off the shadow figures, Xehanort shot at them with powerful energy beams, yelling out, "Be gone!" The kids found themselves caught in the beam' trajectory, taking some damage while also trying to fend off the shadow creatures.

The kids realized all they could do was defend from the shadow creatures, then dodge out of the way once they were able to time Xehanort's beam attack. After a few seconds, Xehanort saw the kids timing his attacks, so he called off the shadow warriors and fired multiple beams of light upon the kids. Banding together, the three kids held their keyblades and defended each other from the beams of light.

With all four of them exhausted, Xehanort called away the thrones, and they all found themselves alone on the light platform again. Then Sora said, "We've got to finish this here and now!" Kairi and Riku grunted and nodded, and all three of them pointed their keyblades at Xehanort. Light emitted at the tips of their blade, and beams fired off towards Xehanort, but the old man managed to defend from their attacks with an invisible barrier.

The old man then raised his X-blade into the sky and yelled out, "It ends here and now!" Then the kids saw Kingdom Hearts become engulfed in darkness, causing them to grunt in surprise.

Xehanort then charged his own beam attack and fired at the kids. Sora jumped out and tried to deflect the attack with his keyblade, but the force proved too much for him, and he was struck by the attack.

Sora passed out, and the next thing he knew, he was seemingly floating in darkness. All was quite around him, and he found no need to call out to anyone. Sora just lie there, suspended in the air, sleeping.

But then he felt his heart pump hard, and it kept pumping. It hurt, but it wasn't a normal type of hurt, it was as if someone was pumping life back into him. Sora then faintly heard the muffled voices of Kairi and Riku calling out his name. They continued calling, and his heart continued to pump with renewed energy, until Sora had the strength to open his eyes and move again.

He woke up and found himself still deflecting from Xehanort's attack, but now Kairi and Riku and joined in, their keyblade supporting his. On Sora's signal, the three swung their keyblades out in rapid succession, and fired their own beams towards Xehanort again.

This time, they all struggled in a tug-of-war like fashion, only this time trying to push towards the opposing team rather than pulling towards themselves. Xehanort found himself struggling to overwhelm the three kids, and for the life of him he could not understand how he was being over-powered by them.

Eventually he lost the strength and gave in, and the kids unified beam attack reached him and pierced him.

The three then descended back down to the tower, and found themselves standing before each other, the kids starring at Xehanort, and he to them, waiting to see who would fall first.

Finally, Xehanort limped forward, dropped his X-blade, and fell to the ground. The kids didn't realize they were all holding their breath, and let out gasps of air and began panting, the fight completely wearing them out.

Xehanort crawled before trying to bring himself to stand up, grunting, "Why? How?"

When Sora finally managed to catch his breath, he responded, "It's over now! You lost!"

But Xehanort refused to acknowledge defeat, and managed to point out to Sora, "No, look… You are too late…" The kids looked up and saw Kingdom Hearts back to normal, and were confused. "Are we really?" Kairi asked concerningly. "How so?" Riku demanded. Then Sora asked, "What's gonna happen?"

Having gained some satisfaction from seeing the kids act all concerned, Xehanort tried answering them as he continued laying on the ground, "A purge… The World will be returned to whence it started."

As the kids grunted in shock, the old man managed to stand himself up, then continued, "The world began in darkness. And from that darkness came light." In Xehanorts mind, images flashed before his eyes, three angelic silhouettes that appeared to form the universe, creating land, oceans, air, and eventually life. Xehanort resumed, "From the light came the people, and the people had hearts." As his mind continued to see visions, he saw the people form civilizations, cultures, and eventually a man that resembled the one from the statue the kids saw when they arrived at Scala ad Caelum. This man appeared to lead the people, with the X-blade in his hand. The man stood on top of a beast that he seemingly conquered after a battle, and then the man and beast were seen standing side-by-side as allies, as other praised them.

Then the man and the beast looked into the distance, and saw darkness being to envelop the land. Some of the people that praised them turned into shadows, and started attacking each other. The vision then shifted to a war-like scenario. Xehanort continued, "Evil burgeoned in those hearts, begetting more darkness. And that darkness spread across the World like a plague." In his visions, Xehanort saw the man wielding the X-blade and trying to drive away the darkness, which now took the vague form of a Darkside heartless. The light of the X-blade seemed to make the darkness retreat, yet at the same time, the darkness appeared drawn to the blade when it wasn't swung against it.

Xehanort resumed, "The light, the symbol of the World's hope, was devoured by shadow. Leaving nothing but ruin… An utter failure." The visions showed Xehanort that the beast had sacrificed itself for the man, who then became enveloped in markings all over his body. The markings took on a red color, and then the man summoned the other weapon that the kids saw at the statue. From this weapon fired a red light, and the vision ended.

The kids listened to the old man, not realizing the visions he was experiencing, and Xehanort continued, "But, the first light, the light of Kingdom Hearts, it can give us a new start. An empty World, pure and bright…"

Then Sora spoke up, "It wasn't your decision to make." Angered by the boy's statement, Xehanort grabbed the X-blade, and used it to support him as he stood. "Then whose was it?" the old man demanded. When Sora didn't answer, Xehanort claimed, "The World needs someone to stand up and lead. Someone strong, to stop the weak from polluting the World with their endless darkness. Someone to dictate their destiny."

From behind them, a beam of green light fired at Xehanort, gravely injuring him. Before the kids could turn and see who it was, something caused them to pass out, and they fell to the ground. "If so…" a voice called out from a portal, "you are not the one to lead, my old master." From the portal, the armored man emerged. His boots created loud foot steps as he walked slowly to his dying master.

Xehanort coughed as he struggled to stay standing, relying on the X-blade to support him. Then, as he coughed up blood, he called out to the armored man, "V-Victor?!"

As Victor got closer to Xehanort, he continued, "A real leader denies what destiny dictates, challenges it, and emerges victorious! He would not stoop so low as to restart his kingdom, hoping his past mistakes would vanish. He persists! Supports the foundations he has built, and stares down at any adversary foolish enough to defy him…"

The two men glared at each other, then Xehanort smiled, "I have forgotten the power behind your words, old friend. Your own ambition continues to amaze me even now, Victor-"

"That's DOCTOR to you, my former master" his apprentice interrupted with pride, "Doctor Doom" and with that statement, his voice echoed all throughout the tower, and seemingly caused the wind to stir.

Xehanort stood there hunched over as his old apprentice formally announced himself, then he stood up, but even then, Doom towered over him. The Doctor motioned his hand, and the kids behind him levitated. Then, the form of Kingdom Hearts shifted slightly, and a massive keyhole formed in the center of the heart. Doom casually flung the three kids up into the keyhole, and into the Badlands beyond. That was the last time Xehanort saw them.

Ω

From the other side, in the Badlands, Merlin and the group looked on anxiously at Kingdom Hearts from the raised platform where the three kids fought Heartless-Xehanort, Young Xehanort, and Xemnas. Then he saw three figures appear from it, and after a second, recognized them as Sora, Kairi, and Riku, as they came crashing-landing towards them. "Incoming!" Merlin yelled, and while the rest of the group retreated back, Merlin used Aeroga to catch the kids and cushion their blow.

The aeroga spell was then deactivated, and the three kids descended to the ground. The group then rushed and surrounded the three kids, still knocked out. "They made it!" Donald squawked in relief. Mickey then asked, "Did they do it? Did they win?" Merlin looked back at Kingdom Hearts and saw it begin to glimmer differently, and with some hesitation, he answered, "I… I think so…"

Ω

Now that they were alone, Doom grappled the X-blade from Xehanort and impaled the old man, shoving the blade deep into his abdomen until it went straight through him. As Xehanort gasped and blood dripped from his mouth, Doom held the X-blade with his master high above the ground.

"It appears Kingdom Hearts is closing on the other side" Doom said indifferently. "Yet here I found a wonderful new base of operations, the remnant of the One World, the alleged Stairway to Heaven, Scala ad Caelum." Doom looked into the yellow eyes of his former Master Xehanort, and as the light faded from them, he continued to boast, "You have no idea of close you were to discovering the truth, and actually wielding it for your benefit, only for you to be tempted by the dark side, clouding your judgement to the point where three children were able to best you in combat!" Doom swung the X-blade, and Xehanort came loose of it, landing and sliding along the floor of the tower. Doom then summoned the Gazing Eye and its kin above Xehanort, and with a single slash of the X-blade, destroyed all of them Gazing Eyes, their pieces falling to the ground, some of which landed on Xehanort's body.

"Consider this your comeuppance! For wielding powers you did not entirely control, for succumbing to your weapons instead of commanding them, and for falling to those infants! The only reason I aid them now is because they actually proved useful in _my_ plan. But you? What did you gain in the end? Visions? On your dying breath? And in return you lost your army, your identity, and now, your life…" Doom then walked towards Xehanort and knelt down to him, whispering, "This is a fitting end for you."

Doom then stood back up, and proceeded to leave this world with the X-blade in hand. Before he entered his portal, he heard his master call out to him in a weak voice, "Victor….." Doom stopped, and decided he'd amuse his old master one last time, turned and faced him. Xehanort then uttered, "Hubris… may have defeated me…but it will defeat you too…..it is our nature…" and with his last breath, Xehanort left this world with a smirk. Doom squinted, and swinging the X-blade, used the air pressure from the swing to decapitate his master, sending his head rolling down the tower steps. Then Doom took one final look at the remains of the One World, and said, "I will return, and this city will shine brighter than it ever did." Then left, as Kingdom Hearts faded in the sky, locking this world from time and space, for now.

Ω

In the badlands, Sora, Kairi, and Riku finally began coming to. Once they all had a moment to fully awaken, they noticed that they were surrounded by the rest of their allies. "WELCOME BACK!" they joyously shouted in unison. Mickey then spoke up, "You did it! You really did it!" The trio then looked at each other, not joining the celebration just yet. Merlin knelt down and asked them "What happened? What's the last thing you remember?"

Sora responded for them, "I… we had defeated Master Xehanort, and he seemed pretty weak, too weak to fight anymore. Then…. an explosion? Did the X-blade turn against him?" He faced Kairi and Riku as he asked that, the two unable to answer. Merlin held a gaze a moment longer, then closed his eyes and smiled. "Someone like him could never hope to wield the X-blade properly, let alone control Kingdom Hearts. Whatever you did, it must have caused his powers to overwhelm him. Then, because Fate must really be on our side, you were returned to use when your mission was complete." The trio smiled and looked at each other, and the rest of the group smiled proudly and looked at them as well.

Mickey then said to the trio, "Alright then, fellas, let's close it!" With a nod, the three kids stood up, and for the last time, all the Keyblade wielders present raised their swords to the sky, and the tips of their blades lit up, beams of light shot out to Kingdom Hearts, and the moon disappeared from their view.

With its light gone, and the clouds around it vanished, the natural sunlight of the Badlands returned, and shined upon the heroes. They took another moment to stare into the empty space where Kingdom Hearts once was, the wind blowing softly against them.

Then Mickey turned to face the group and said with forced pride, "It…. It's finally over!" Everyone else nodded and grunted in agreement. They began to embrace with each other; Aqua and Terra hugged one another; Sora and Kairi passionately held each other; Mickey, Donald, and Goofy engaged in a group hug; Riku and Roxas shook each other's hands then held a bro-hug; Merlin leaned on his staff and looked on as they congratulated each other, while Archer stood behind him, allowing a smile on his lips.

Then Mickey spoke up again, "My friends! We have won, but let us not forget those we lost in this battle. Those who gave their lives for us." Everyone turned to him when they heard him say this, and their faces became serious. Mickey then named the fallen, "Axel," Roxas flinched at the name, and fought back tears; "Eraqus," Aqua and Terra reacted to that name, while Roxas squeezed his face as he struggled even harder now to keep calm; "Yen Sid," at the mention of his name, everyone other than Donald and Goofy looked up and grunted in shock. Merlin gave a sad nod, confirming what Mickey said. But it was Archer who spoke up, "We couldn't tell you yet, not before our assault on the Organization. Someone attacked Yen Sid, and took his life as well as destroyed the Tower."

The others continued staring at Archer and Mickey in disbelief, then Riku asked, "Who? Who did it?" "We don't know" Merlin answered, "The bastard hid all traces of himself quite well. But… something tells me he won't make a move for a while. With our victory here secured, none of you need to worry about it." "But-" Riku tried to speak, but Merlin interrupted him, "Once we have all recovered from this, once you young heroes have taken the rest you've all earned from your courageous efforts to keep the peace in all the worlds, I will call upon you when I'm ready for your help. With this new authority granted to me" he summoned his Ultimate keyblade and proudly held it in the air, "I'll be sure to perform my duties as admirably as Yen Sid did, and his masters before him." Then he smiled at the group and said, "Let the grown ups clean up the mess, you kids get the rest you need, you deserve it." As the group looked at the White Wizard, they take another moment to remember the fallen. Sora looked on in the distance, looking at all the keyblades gathered in the mass graveyard, then faced Kairi with a smile and said to her, "We did it." Kairi held his hands in hers, and replied with a smile and a tear in her eye, "Yes…we did it."

Ω

In the distance, the Assassin stood, watching as the group beamed in their gummiships and fled this dreadful world. He supervised the Shadow girl while his master, Doctor Doom, went to confirm Xehanort's demise. Then the assassin looked at the girl, and she looked at him, and for a moment, the two felt like they recognized each other.

Before either of them could speak, a portal opened, and Doom emerged from it. The Assassin went and knelt before his master, asking "Is it done, my lord?" Doctor Doom looked down on his servant with pride and answered, "Yes, Kiritsugu, it is finished by my hand. I knew those children were too naïve to deal the finishing blow, and would've likely heard him out, and maybe even spared him. They are what pass for Keyblade Masters these days….." he ended with a disappointed sigh. The Assassin, Kiritsugu, then removed his hood and facemask, revealing spiky white hair and tanned skin, his eyes appeared lifeless and old, as if he had seen more death than anyone deserves to see in their life time. "What of the X-blade?" Kiristsugu asked, noticing its absence. "It eludes us, momentarily" Doom answered confidently.

Then, in the middle of the crossroads at the keyblade graveyard, the three saw a light emit from the epicenter, and once it dimmed out, in its place sat the Black Box. With mild joy, Doom commanded his two servants, "Come now! The next phase of my plan awaits!"

The three were transported by Doom to the Black Box, and Doom approached it, and used the sensors in his helmet to confirm that it was the box he sought, the box he initially had sent Maleficent on a goose chase in order to use her life force to open the box. The advanced technology in his helmet confirmed it.

Then Doom turned and faced the Shadow girl, and beckoned her to open the box. Kiritsugu asked with some concern in his voice, "What do you plan to do with her? Now that Maleficent no longer lives?" Doom faced the Assassin, almost offended that he questioned his master's will. Kiritsugu met his gaze with a straight face, but also tried to imply that he was merely curious. Doom held his gaze a moment longer, then answered, "The box requires massive amounts of energy to be opened. A lot of effort went into sealing it across space and time, and so a lot will be needed to break its lock."

The Shadow girl approached the box, and the instant she placed her hand on it, a violent reaction occurred. The box started draining the girl of the energy she consumed from Maleficent and Pete. The girl screamed in anguish, Kiritsugu looked on with concern while Doom remained indifferent to her cries. After several agonizing seconds, the box stopped its assault on the girl, and she was flung back. Kiritsugu reacted and caught her, holding her in his arms, while Doom walked towards the box, now opened. A red glow came from within, its light reflecting off of Doom's armor. As soon as his eyes saw what was inside, they widened with glee.

"What is it?" Kiritsugu asked. "The truth" Doom answered as he reached in to grab the object, and from it was an unusual-looking blade, the blade that Sora, Kairi, and Riku saw being held by the statue in Scala ad Caelum. "The primordial weapon, Ea. It was forged by ancient forces before the concept of a weapon was understood. The Destroyer of Creation, in the palm of my hand! With it acting as a catalyst, I shall summon my next Grand Servant, the true Master of Masters! The first Keyblade Wielder and the oldest hero to exist, and soon, my Conquest can begin!"

The three sections of the blade began to spin in opposing directions, with the markings glowing a red color. The very sight of it seemed to cause pain to Kiritsugu, and he shielded his eyes, but Doom seemed unfazed by it. Doom continued holding the weapon Ea high above him, and with a shout, unleashed its power into the heavens, "ENUMA ELISH!" A wave of red energy emitted from Ea, and engulfed the sky above.

Ω

Donald, Goofy, and Mickey returned to their home at Disney Castle, emerging from the small castle in the garden, and were greeted by Minnie, Daisy, and Pluto. Minnie and Mickey hugged one another and nuzzled their noses together, while Daisy approached Donald and appeared to scold him, must to Goofy's surprise, but ended up hugging him, and Donald hugged her back. Goofy, while petting Pluto, saw someone in just outside the garden. He squinted, and saw that it was his little boy, Max. Goofy's eyes widened with joy and ran to his son, and Max ran toward his father. The two met and hugged each other, with tears coming from Goofy's eyes. Above them, fireworks roared in the sky, celebrating their return and victory.

Ω

In the Land of Departure, Aqua, Terra, and Roxas looked at the Keyblade of Master Eraqus that marked his grave. Then, after taking a moment to look at the remains of their old home, Terra and Aqua turned and faced Roxas, who stared at them with a sad smile. Aqua walked towards him and asked, "Are you sure you can't stay?" She bent her knees so she could face Roxas at almost eye-level. He turned away and said, "Yeah… I'm sure. Even now, I can feel… two sides of myself at war. I can't stay here, or at Twilight Town, not for a while. I have to make a new life for myself, and help my two conflicting identities come to terms until they can finally be at peace with one another."

Aqua had tears running down her eyes, while Terra approached Roxas and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "You'll always have a home here. Feel free to come by anytime you want." Then paused and smile before continuing, "Hopefully I'll be master myself by the time you come back." Roxas and Aqua chuckled softly, then the two embraced Roxas, and he held on tightly to them. "I'll miss you guys…" he said tearfully. "We'll miss you too" Aqua replied tearfully. "We'll be right here, waiting for you" Terra said. The three held their embrace for a few moments longer…

Ω

In the Garden of Avalon, Merlin and Archimedes stood in a library, staring at a pile of reports that they'll now have to read over, and the two hunched over in dread, neither looking forward to all the paperwork. Behind them, they were joined by another, the Dream Eater Chirithy, who shook her head at the sight of the two, then approached them.

Ω

In the Radiant gardens, Isa awoke just outside Ansem's lab. He stood up, and entered the massive structure. Inside, Ienzo, Leon, Yuffie, Cid, and Ansem were working on repairs, while Ansem appeared to be speaking to Merlin on the Gummiphone, "And that's what happened." Merlin looked troubled on the tiny screen, with Archimedes and Chirity standing on a desk beside him, and Archer stood in the far back corner of the screen. "And you still don't know who it was that took her?" "I only know that it was the traveler I met long ago, and… he saved our lives. None of us would be standing here now if it weren't for him."

"I still hesitate to use the word 'save'" Leon spoke out, "It seemed to me like we lead him to what he was looking for, then spared us in return by sending us back here, destroying the lab and the data in the process."

Merlin groaned to himself, "Hmm, this does make me anxious, but for now, it doesn't seem this man appears to be a threat to us. You guys focus on repairs, and I'll keep you posted with anything I discover." Archimedes and Chirithy waved across the screen, and Merlin hung up.

Then the group heard someone entering the room, and when they faced the door, they saw Isa standing there. "Isa?" Ansem called out. Ienzo stared with mild shock, "Isa? Is that really you?"

Isa looked at Ienzo, then to Ansem, and said, "Hello, Ienzo….. Hello, master…."

Ω

A short time later, on Destiny Islands, Terra, Aqua, Roxas, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Merlin joined with Sora, Kairi, Riku, Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka, all in their swimming suits, to hang out for one last time before they all go there separate ways and rebuild their lives for a while.

Roxas and his three Twilight Town friends played frisbee with Tidus and Wakka, while Selphie and Aqua stood by the beach and knelt to touch the water. Selphie watched as Aqua seemed to appreciate feeling the water in a world that wasn't covered in darkness, for the first time in a long time. Aqua took a handful of sand, and watched it fall back into the water.

Merlin stood behind the girls as he watched them bend over, much to his pleasure, but then Chirithy smacked him on the head, knocking him out, which amused Archimedes.

Riku and Terra watched as Mickey, Donald, and Goofy made sand sculptures of themselves, until a frisbee flew into Donald's sculpture, making him mad. Roxas approached Donald in an apologetic manner, with Wakka and Tidus standing nervous behind him. But Donald ended up chasing the three boys across the beach.

Beyond the wooden house, up where the palm trees were, Sora and Kairi sat together in private, their hands joined, and the two leaned on each other. Finally, they could be together, and no one would dare separate the two again. And yet, for a moment, Sora had an unsettling feeling, and felt as if someone was standing behind them, an unfriendly presence. He turned to see who it was, but did not see anyone there. "Something wrong?" Kairi asked. Sora turned back to her and looked into her eyes, and the unsettling feeling left him, "No… nothing, not anymore…."

To be continued in Kingdom Hearts: Conquest…


End file.
